


11 Years Too Early

by Rauden



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 22:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 77,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5224112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rauden/pseuds/Rauden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leading an Investigation Team is hard work…but being a member of S.E.E.S. at the same time? Watch as Souji manages his time in eradicating the Dark Hour and solving a brewing murder case several miles away from Iwatodai. Will 10 years worth of killing Shadows make enough of a difference?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Encounters

**Author's Note:**

> I've only known ao3 for a week so if I've done something inappropriate or unusual, let me know. If you recognize this work, it's because I update this story in a different site.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14 chapters of this story shall be uploaded in one go

_I hate blue_

Thoughts of different ways of torture made their way to the mature girl as she extinguishes the remaining flames licking the curtains. Her long, curly, pale blond hair tied up so as not to get in the way of her gold embers.

_I swear when Igor gets back, he’s gonna get it. Maybe I could show him how I’ve been training my Almighty Spells in secret._

But then again practically nothing escapes the nose.

_Maybe he knew that the twins would be extra active today and that’s why he abruptly left. Now that I think about it, I think I spotted him slipping extra sugar cubes on the twin’s afternoon te—_

A moment of realization came

_MEGIDOLAON IT IS_

It all started as a normal afternoon for Margaret, age 8. Except that her guardian has left her with her twin siblings, Lizzy and Theo ages 6, to take care of. They were however, no ordinary children. They were born with inhumane power, intelligence and unworldly beauty. They were born to serve and assist the wildcards that could destroy the world with a simple slip in a question of ‘Yes or No’. With a simple flick of one of Igor’s pretty, blue cards, they could become wielders of Personas of different Arcanas.

They were Residents of the Velvet Room, a place between dream and reality, mind and matter.

But despite all these, in the end, they are still children. After an hour’s session of _Let’s Play: with Margaret_ which includes the oldest sibling running after them and dodging Maziongas and Maragis in a constantly shifting space of blue and finally catching them with a Marin Karin and an Evil Smile, the mature child was exhausted.

Sitting on the couch, she sipped on her tea with a grace no 8 year old can. She let herself be wrapped up by the seat’s embrace almost shuddering with its comfort. Yes, after today’s excursions, absolutely nothing can ruin this mome—

**_TAP TAP_ **

She almost dropped her cup. Margaret, ever so slowly, looked up at the source of the commotion. One of the first things Igor taught her as a child was to never open THAT Door. THAT Door is DANGEROUS. On the other side of THAT Door are HUMANS who does only stupid things, as far as she has read at least. What if stupidity is contagious? Or air borne?

**_BAM BAM_ **

She’s standing up now still staring at THAT Door, mouth agape, her tea forgotten, not knowing what to do. She slowly walked towards it, her sweaty hands hovering to one of her pockets where a blue tarot card lay vibrating as if sensing its owner’s demeanor. Igor never said anything about KNOCKING. He said only guests, who wield Velvet Keys have access or better yet, can see it. THAT Door has been there as far as she can remember but she only sees it open whenever Igor has to go somewhere. Never in her life has she heard someone knock on it.

**_DOMB DOMB_ **

_It seems the intruder has given up being civilized and had to ram on the door. Are humans truly barbaric as they seem to be?_

**_CRACK_ **

_My first encounter of humans…how unnerving. It does not seem to be that huge in structure and yet it holds so much power._

**_CRACK_ **

As the second crack resounded, Margaret saw splints of wood fly through the door and gave way to the illuminating light from the other side. The intruder is wielding what appears to be an axe and is now hacking its way through the door, favoring its one side with the doorknob where the lock is supposedly attached.

Both parties on each side of the door are out of breath for two entirely different reasons. Despite the door blocking the view, the ‘intruder’ knew that someone is waiting for him on the other side. And all it would take is one final ram before the door could give in. They both knew this.

And so the girl took a deep breath, card in one hand, a clenched fist on the other. She glared at the door with all the intensity she could muster to find—

**_CRASH_ **

A little boy three years younger than her

* * *

_The weather’s nice today_

The boy decided as he faced the window and closed his eyes trying to feel the breeze from outside. He snuggled comfortably in his arms while sitting cross-legged in front of his table. He thought how it would be nice to stay that way forever.

Without opening his eyes, he felt a shadow loom over him. As well as a few eye rolls from behind his back

_Here we go again…_

“Souji-chan, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

Various voices were heard in the room. A particularly loud and annoying one spoke in a know it all voice.

“Tch! He’s just being lazy as usual, sensei.” He guessed the voice belongs to the bully with the potbelly as big as the school principal’s. Before Souji learned self-defense and a little hand to hand combat, the bully always used to pester him during dismissals. After that, Souji would swerve and block the boy’s attacks maneuvering the beefy arms to get him hit by his own punches. The first time it happened, the big boy ran away red and crying not bothering to wipe the snot, sweat and drool all over his face. He almost felt sorry for him. _Almost_

“He does that everyday.” Said the sidekick whom he swear would look like a broccoli if his hair weren’t brown

“Well at least he can get full scores in desk works unlike you guys.” A girl defended. The said girl has reddish brown hair put up in a cute ponytail with her bangs clipped by thingies with small flowers. The warm and friendly Minako-san is one of the only two people he can stand in his class, the other one being her twin brother, Minato.

When he first met Minato, they were in the middle of one of their nap sessions while everyone else were playing and coloring. An accidental eye contact while being reprimanded by one of the teachers was all it took for the nap lovers to become friends. They eventually started sharing secret hiding places and techniques for sleeping, much to the disdain of their teachers.

“W-what did you say?!” Potbelly flushed, glaring at the girl

“Shhh!-- that’s Minako-chan you’re talking to, boss!!!” Broccoli warned his ‘boss’ pointedly looking at the seat in front of me where the blue haired twin lay.

Potbelly shivered and started to sweat profusely, feeling an icy prickle in the back of his neck. Despite being in a heads down position, the blue haired twin radiated a murderous aura like a lioness ready to pounce and ravage those who dare harm her cub or in this case, sister. Over the years of being a brother to a cute and popular little sister every boy has a crush on, Minato has unconsciously developed a sixth sense which Souji and Minako calls a ‘Protective Brother Sense’.

Souji appreciates his friends defending him but he can’t help but feel a little embarrassed. He just wishes for the day to go faster.

Souji Seta, age 5, the second sleepiest (only second to Minato) yet the second smartest (only second to Minako) student in his class is finding a quiet place to read his Science Book for 3rd Graders. Because of his quiet demeanor, impressive grades, athletic talents, good looks and constant need for ignoring anything that does not interest him, he has earned the favor of more than a few girls in class and agitation of the 1st Grade male population. On sunny days like these, he can usually be found reading or sleeping under a tree, favoring solace, acting more like an old man than a child in 1st Grade.

But not today

Today, the usually gentle and harmless 5 year old boy everyone respects is holding an axe almost as big as he. Beads of sweat are forming in his fore head, he could hear the loud beats of his heart, taking deep long breaths, forcing his eyes not to shut and his knees wobble. He felt like one of those badass characters in those weird zombie apocalypse movies. Apparently those badass characters are not 5 year olds.

_Bring it on, door! I ain’t afraid of you!_

The boy’s family has been staying in Iwatodai for 2 years now, much longer than the other places they’ve been in making him knowledgeable of the spots for his daily relaxation. However, in Souji’s search for solace he unconsciously followed a pretty blue butterfly as though it was the most interesting thing that came in his life and found a door seemingly out of place in the back of the school, somewhere in the yard, a little far off from the play ground where the other kids play. This area has always been his special place and then suddenly attached to the school building’s wall, a door appeared out of nowhere. Freaky glowing doors or not, nothing gets past here without his knowledge. And so, out of curiosity and pride, he decided to investigate.

He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He tried it again but this time louder and harder, with his fists but there was still no answer. After minutes of door knocking and waiting, his patience has finally ran out. If nobody’s going to open the door in the other side, he will just have to force it.

He walked a few feet back and rushed towards it, bracing his shoulder for the impact. It did not budge. He tried it again but this time, it knocked him so hard he fell to the ground, bruising the side of his chin in the process. The tired, sweaty and dirty Souji decided it’s time for Plan B.

And so, after rummaging the gardener’s secret shed and sneaking through children and adults, he is finally gonna open the blasted door.

Holding the heavy axe with both hands and a deep breath, the boy tried to swing it overhead like in his few practices in kendo but thought it’s too heavy and decided to swing from the sides instead. He started to hack and slash it, particularly the doorknob. Several moments later, the door is finally loose enough for one last ram. He dropped the heavy axe, thanking his sensei for pushing him during his after school kendo practices. He licked his lips with anticipation, acting as though he will be able to discover a new element in the Periodic Table he memorized three days ago. He took several steps back and with one last intake of breath broke into a fast sprint once again bracing his shoulders for the impact.

**_CRASH_ **

He found himself in the ground, aching all over but eventually smiled when he spotted the door he has grown to hate so much under him, a sign of victory. He noticed the blue carpet and the blue room and eventually a girl older than him in a stance he doesn’t recognize, holding a blue tarot card.

_I was right. There WAS someone behind the door._

Upon closer inspection, he noticed her pearly white and unblemished smooth skin and pale long blonde curly hair tied up. Her eyes although bewildered were bright, like those gold jeweleries his mom wears during special occasions. He decided that she was very pretty. Prettier than any girl he has laid his eyes on. So pretty he unknowingly took a sharp intake of breath when he saw her.

He tried to stand up to compose himself but found that his body is too sore to move. Apparently, he became so obsessed with the door he did not notice the strain he was putting on his body. So, he decided to stare up at her while crippled on the door.

The girl was staring down on him, wide eyes and her mouth slightly ajar as though she could not believe what her eyes were seeing. He decided to break the awkward silence

“Hi” trying to appear as timid as possible. “You er—you like blue?”

 


	2. Vows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A promise is made and the moon grows big.

He has never felt so scared in his long(5 years) life. He inwardly wondered if he’ll ever settle down, get married, have children or fulfil his lifelong dream of discovering some unworldly species and slap those who wouldn’t believe him with a Nobel Prize medal. _Wait. Discover unworldly species?_ He stole a glance from his captors: A girl younger than the one before and a boy with the same face as her. He noticed the hair and eye colour the two including the girl from before all share. He guessed that they’re all siblings who are: extremely gorgeous, with perfectly smooth voices and share an unnatural eye colour that looks too realistic for contact lenses. _Huh. That was easier than I expected. Now where’s that Nobel Prize…?_ He looked at his feet trying not to squirm at the 2 staring children prodding him with a stick. He would have waved them off if not for the rope binding him in his seat. Hell, he would have been sprinting for his life if not for the rope binding him in his seat.

_Stupid rope_

“So, are you really human?” asked the little girl with sparkling wide eyes as though it was her first time seeing one. He flinched at her pronunciation of ‘So’, making it sound like ‘Sho’ with an ‘sh’ instead of an ‘s’. He decided to inwardly recite the multiplication table forcing himself to not correct the annoying yet seemingly cute baby talk “Is it true that you trap small versions of your species in black boxes and watch them for entertainment?”

He felt the prodding stop and sneaked a peek at the other child wondering if God finally answered his prayers and killed one of his captors.

_Nope, still alive._

“Black boxes? Ooh! I’ve read about that!! It’s called the m-mi… mirowv- Mirowave!” the boy exclaimed, impressed with himself. He might as well be running around naked and shouting ‘Eureka!’ for his enthusiastic face, shining so bright it would rival the sun itself. “They put their food on it and turn this small circle on the side and the box burns inside”

“ _Gasp-_ They put their fellow species inside a box to burn for entertainment and eventually eat them?!” She stared at me in horror “I love it!”

As the twins chatted enthusiastically, the self repaired door in the side of the room opened revealing the girl he met a while ago holding a tray of iced tea and biscuits. She glared at him like he was dirt stuck under her shoes and walked towards the small table in front of him to set the tray aside. He couldn’t understand the cause of her distress. It was just a door, after all. Their weird dad with the big nose wasn’t even the least angry when he arrived, more amused than anything else really.

He heard footsteps and turned to see the said man walking in his default crouch position with a creepy but somehow accommodating smile. He walked with both hands behind his back and realized that he hasn’t even seen his popped out eyes blink. The siblings quieted down and positioned themselves behind the couch, the twins with their barely contained giddiness and the oldest with a stoic expression. The old gentleman with a long nose and suit sat in the middle of the couch and stared at the tied boy with unspoken curiosity and interest. He spoke a word which he seems to have heard as ‘Theodore’ and the boy in his left side walked behind him untying the knot. He nodded at the man and the boy, grateful for the feel in his arms and noticed the gentleman gesture in front of the table

“Please, help yourself. All that work must have taken quite the load off of you.” He was perplexed about consuming whatever the oldest sibling serves for him but eventually gave in to the cold drinks. He shakily grabbed the glass and felt the iced tea wash his parched throat. He finished the glass in one down and returned a more flustered gaze of the old man’s in front.

“Thank you” he muttered

“You are most welcome” the old man’s smile widened at the boy’s mannerism. “So, what brings you here with us today?”

The boy was a little surprised with his accommodation and speech. It was as though they’re treating him like some guest instead of a trespasser. _Is this some kinda business they run? I didn’t understand the question, might as well explain myself._ And so, explain he did. After telling his story that sounded a little crazier than what he has hoped for, hearing it coming out of his mouth, the man nodded in satisfaction.

“You followed a blue butterfly, eh?”

 _Out of all the things he could have pointed out, THAT’S what piqued his interest? Doesn’t he have anything to say about me stealing an axe and how I managed to open a restricted shed?_ Souji decided that the man is as crazy as he looks.

“I-I know it sounds weird or girly or whatever but I swear, the thing was all glowy and sprouting glitters out of its butt.”

The man chuckled. “And you’re saying it led you here?”

“Well, not really. I mean, it passed the door and I noticed how the door was all glowy too and when I turned back to see the butterfly, it suddenly disappeared!” he explained waving his hands around. The boy blinked and realized for the first time, what a strange situation he was in. The man noticed his expression and remained silent as the boy stared at him, the whole room and the three children behind his back. The man can see the wheels turning at the back of his head, making him able to tell just how smart the boy was and braced himself for questions he knew would be coming. Deciding he’s had enough, the now expressionless boy turned back to the man in front and asked.

“Can I go back?”

It was not a question of what or where they are. The boy did not ask what kind of services they offer or if they would harm him. He simply asked if he could go back. The man briefly wondered what the boy meant by ‘back’. Back home? School? World? _No, it must be much more general than that._

The man chuckled. The question was a bull’s eye and the he wondered how many times the boy would keep asking himself that question for the rest of his life or rather how many years does he have left in his life wherein he would he be asking that question to himself. The man gestured at the door where the oldest sibling came from.

“You are free to go back home.”

The boy continued to stare at him, searching the man’s face for a few more moments before realizing that it must have been getting late and that he would be in trouble if he doesn’t leave immediately. The boy stood up thanking them for their hospitality and apologizing, more especially to the older girl, for barging in. He was about to reach for the doorknob when he came to a halt and reluctantly peeked at the side, just enough for his peripheral view to catch them. “You didn’t answer my question.”

The man was solemn now and seemed to be a little sad, with the barest hint of a smile he answered “No, I did not.”

Souji looked down in his shoes, fiddling with his fingers and trying to come to terms with his answer. Making up his mind, he turned fully to the other four occupants of the room. “I don’t think I’m in the position to be all picky here since I’m the one who broke the door and all so I don’t have a choice in the matter to begin with but I just wanna say it anyway...”

Despite his heavy heart, the boy managed a sincere smile

“I, Souji Seta will take responsibility and face the consequences of my actions.”

He said it with such finality that he could not help but feel as though he was announcing his own death. He suddenly felt a weird sensation prickling in the back of his head but shrugged it off. With a smile, he made one last wave to the four. He turned and did not notice when they bowed: the children, humbled; the Father, solemn.

“Till we meet again, young master, Souji Seta”

* * *

 

“What’s wrong Sou-chan? You don’ look so good.”

“I-I’m fine, Minako-san” He replied as the three make their way home. The pale complexioned Souji, despite his assurances, does not look good. His light gray hairs are sticking to the sides of his face and neck due to his pouring cold sweat. The twins even grabbed his arm a time or two to prevent him from stumbling over. Even the carefree Minato is staring to get worried for his friend.

“You could always stay with us y’know?” The blue haired twin offered, casually removing an ear phone from his ear. “You could stay the night, heck, I’m pretty sure you could live with us—like forever. Mom’s always happy to have someone she could share recipes with.”

“Yeah, Onii-chan’s right! We could e-mail your parents. I’m sure they would prefer that you stay with company instead of living in that cold, empty house all alone.”

Trying to not further burden his friends, Souji stood straighter and forced himself to walk casually, biting the inside of his cheek so as not to fall asleep while walking. He has never felt so tired in his life. He pushed the thoughts of his weakened state and considered his friends’ offer. To be perfectly honest, there is nothing he wants more than their company. He never complains but he finds the empty house just as unnerving as his friends do but the thought of leaving behind unguarded property worries him, not like there’s really expensive stuff in there. He’s practically the only one living in there after all. His guardian who is a friend and co-worker of his father is a workaholic, rarely comes home due to her work in some project of the Kirijo’s. The boy actually likes his oba-san, Shinou. Although they don’t see each other that much, whenever they do, he could tell that she tries hard to get along with him. She even texts him everyday and the conversations he saved in his cheap phone is something he looks upon whenever he longs for a parent’s love. _Mom and dad on the other hand… *sigh*I’d be surprised if they even replied to one of my e-mails._

He could not help but be relieved and maybe a little jealous that his friends have such loving and caring parents. He also thought how much he has been burdening and worrying his Shinou-oba whenever she couldn’t be with him. _I couldn’t care less about asking permission from my parents. I’ll just call her first, just to make sure._ And so he pulled out his phone. After pushing the Call button, he cradled the cell in his ear and heard the familiar tone. _Please say yes. Please say yes._ After two rings, someone on the other line picked up.

**_“Sou-chan, what's wrong?! Did something happen? Who is this—”_ **

“Shinou-oba, calm down! Don’t worry, nothing happened.” … _Much_

**_“Sou-chan… sorry kiddo, everything’s just so busy here and a lotta stuffs been happenin’. You never call Souji, what’s wrong?”_ **

_Deep breath, deep breath, Souji. Just like that song Minato likes. You can do this._

“A-Auntie, I’ve been uh- wondering if it’s alright to-- staywiththeArisato’splaceforawhile? Or at least whenever you’re not at home?”

 ** _“Arisato’s? Ooh you mean those cute twins! Ahaha I dunno why you’re even asking me Souji, you can stay with them whenever you want. Just make sure to lock the house and DON’T LEAVE anything important.”_** The woman warned. Souji could tell that she’s pondering on something until he heard her pained voice. He could almost see her grimace. **_“Hey Sou-chan, I’m not making a really good guardian, huh? Sorry kid, don’t worry. The project’s already on its final stages but I’ve been thinkin’ of quitin’.”_**

“Quit?! Auntie, you’ve been on that project even before I arrived here in Iwatodai. What’s wrong?”

**_“It’s a conflict in morality, somethin’ to tell only when you’re older. I’ll call you when I get back, kay? I know I said I’m gonna quit but I have to arrange my papers here first and the project would have finished by then so I might come back 2 days from now.”_ **

“Alright, oba-san. See you.”

He heard the other line click and looked up to see his expectant friends. “Well??” asked a nervous looking Minako and he smiled.

“She said yes.”

“YEEESSSS!!!~” Minako screeched as she jumped and bumbed a fist in the air while her brother nodded approvingly and made a small smile already forming possible sleeping arrangements in his head. As they resumed their walk, or in Minako’s case, skip home, Souji could not help but feel worried for his oba-san. Souji knows how much she works and every time he sees her, she gets thinner each time. Just then, he felt a shiver down his spine and the familiar head ache return, the back of his skull throbbed with his strides but he kept on walking, trying not to alert his friends.

He looked up and realized how much the sky got darker with all that’s happened. The glowing door, the creepy long nosed man and his three picture perfect children and now his auntie’s quitting a project she’s been working on for years. The moment he opened the door earlier, he felt his life shift and the conversation he had with the strange old man only intensified his uneasiness. He could not help but feel like running away from his friends just so they could stay living their normal lives and not be affected by whatever’s about to come for him. They’re in front of the house now and the twins opened the door shouting ‘We’re home’ while the boy could not turn his eyes away from the ominous moon. He felt his friends look as he did.

_Is it just me or is the moon getting bigger?_

* * *

 

_Tomorrow’s the big day_

Eiichiro Takeba, one of the leading scientists of projects concerning evil and dark beings they call Shadows is formulating a plan to interrupt the creation of the Harbinger. The scientist is frantically writing in his small notebook for possible solutions, searching for the best route with the least casualties. He has already filled more than half of his 3rd notebook for the past 12 hours, writing formulas and typing calculations with his other hand.

Thoughts of his daughter filled his mind and renewed his weary body to keep writing for routes and calculations. He has been working on a work load enough for three men but he knew there was nobody he could trust with work so delicate. His co-workers are brain-washed lunatics trying to end the world for God’s sake. They’re trying to end his _daughter’s_ world. He’s not going to let that happen.

After 4 hours of formulation, he has finally found the perfect solution. He will need to make a letter—no, no a letter is too fragile for such a vital information. No, he will make a video of himself but he can’t make the video now, President Kirijo’s got his eyes all over the place. Not to mention that brain-washing bastard, Ikutsuki. The master and his loyal dog are sure to be lapping all over the CCTVs and networks with what’s to come tomorrow. He would have to make it when they’re all distracted. Like when something goes completely wrong. _Yes, that’s perfect._

_Another problem is that I would need someone to hack the terminals while I provide distraction. I’m a scientist after all, I know next to nothing about those tech shit. Yuu Kimijima has good character, she even gave that big red ribbon to robot girl but she’s a development chief, too involved. I need someone unseated, good-willed and techy, someone like…like…_

He heard familiar metallic sounds on the other side of his office. The whirling noises and clacking inhumane sounds were more than enough for him to identify the individual he’s been searching for.

 _“_ Aigis…”

 


	3. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleepovers and revelations

“Are you sure you don’t want dinner, Souji-kun? I didn’t know the two were bringing you today but I’ve cooked enough for you to have a proper meal.” The twin’s mother offered as she handed Souji Minato’s spare shirt. She let out an exasperated sigh, tucking her long dark blue hair under her ear. “Kids your age should eat more or you’ll never grow. Just look at my son over there.”

“I heard that…”

 “Anyway, you really need to eat something, Souji-kun. I can’t let you take that medicine with your empty tummy.” Their mother poked at the said tummy and laughed as the flustered boy squirmed away. She blinked, remembering something. “I know! I’ll just make that soup from that cookbook I bought. I’ll let you borrow it Souji- kun, it’s great! hoho”

He gave her a grateful smile and watched her stride towards the kitchen. He has a special fondness with the cheerful woman. She is his Cooking Buddy just as much as Minato is his Nap Friend. He looked up at the lean man across him with reddish hair darker than his daughter’s, reading a newspaper. Although he isn’t as cheerful as his wife, their father has his own charm. When he first met him, he was a little worried that the man disapproves of him since he doesn’t seem to want to talk with the boy. That is until he felt the man slip extra cookies under the table to the three kids for dessert. _He’s a pretty cool dad_ he thought. He then noticed his slightly damp shirt clinging in his chest and the heat trapped in his head.

_I might as well take a quick shower while she cooks._

He stood up from his seat and walked out to the bedroom where the twins’ bathroom is. Along with his clean clothes, he grabbed a familiar white towel with his initial stitched in the corner and stepped in. Having a set of clothes, own towel, toothbrush and futon in a house with a family he shares no blood relation with, it’s obvious just how much Souji’s been staying with them in the past two years. And although he does not have the blood in their veins, they are much more of a family to him than his biological parents ever was.

Stepping out of the shower, fully dressed, he smelled a delicious aroma, which could have only been the said soup and went to the dining room. He was welcomed by a bowl of chicken soup, glass of water and pills at the side. Despite the heat on his forehead, he found the soup to be delicious and complimented the chef washing the plates, much to her delight. He took the tablets and offered to help in her cleaning but was shooed in the kitchen, sending him to the twin’s bedroom where his futon has been laid. He noticed a feminine hand handing him an iced bag and another with a hand towel. The boy thanked the twins for the gesture as he laid on his futon, wiping his cold sweat and placing the bag on his forehead.

“Hey Souji, you’re staying until tomorrow, right?” Minato asked from his lower deck bed while his sister is on the second one on top of his. “You think you could sleep that off?”

“I think so, why?”

“It’s Sunday tomorrow, dummy! We eat outside for dinners during Sundays. If you’re too sick, we would have to call it off but don’t worry about that, your health’s more important after all.” The other twin replied clutching Mocha the teddy bear. “Remember that time when your oba had to leave Japan for three days and you spent the weekend with us?”

“You mean when—Oh yeah, that’s right, we ate Chinese for dinner. Don’t worry, it’s not that serious. I’ll sleep it off.”

Souji turned in his futon, trying to get comfortable while still clutching an ice bag on his head. He was beginning to feel drowsy when Minato called out. “Souji?”

“Yeah?”

“Where did you go after we were dismissed?”

“Onii-chan…”

“I know, I know, he’s sick and all but I couldn’t help but ask. We’ve been putting it off for a while now and you came out late despite being so prompt.”

Souji considered telling them the truth but doubted they would believe him. _I won’t believe_ me _either._ So he blurted the first thing that came out of his head, hating the feeling of lying to his friends.

“I fell asleep”

“LIE. We checked out every nap spot we know and we didn’t see you anywhere.”

“I didn’t do it intentionally; I was just reading my textbook and felt a little drowsy. I was a little far from the nearest nap spot and fell asleep with my book on my head which must be why you didn’t recognize me.”

Souji couldn’t see his friend’s expression because of the dim room but eventually heard him speak with a tinge of hurt. “I dunno what you’re keeping from us, Souji but please don’t run off by yourself again.”

“Yeah, sorry, I won’t do it again.”

“You promise?”

Souji looked up from his futon again to see bright silver eyes staring at him, still visible despite the darkness. “I promise.”

* * *

 

_Stress level of team increased: 18 percent as of 2:37:09 am_

_Current Order: ‘Just- uh- stand in the corner somewhere or something’ given by Head Instructor, Aizawa Souta_

7th Generation Anti- Shadow Suppressant Weapon, Aigis is standing in the corner, back facing the wall, as the rest of the room blurred with lab coats and documents of operational data. She took note of the growing tension in the room, making the people more prone to accidents. Out of all them however, Head Researcher, Takeba Eiichiro is the tensest of all. Being able to stay calm and collective while handling the Ergonomics Research Laboratory, the man has earned the respect and acknowledgement of his fellow researchers. However, being on the final stages of the project, his composure is slowly deteriorating. But what’s more unusual is that as of 5 hours and 27 minutes ago, the piques of his stress levels have become prominently erratic particularly during his encounters with the robotic maiden. This caused the said girl to become more focused on her task to ‘stand in the corner or something’ trying to cause the least interference as possible.

“Hello, Aigis- kun.”

Her attention was caught by a voice which she has identified to be as the centre of her concern, Eiichiro Takeba.  Upon closer inspection, the man has become ‘a total wreck’ with his bagged eyes, unruly appearance and crouched posture. She noticed his unusual calmness as opposed to his earlier reaction. He nonchalantly leaned on the wall beside her, looking but not processing the clipboard in his hand. She noticed his subtle cover and matched him with her usual prepared posture, as though not noticing him. They were silent for a moment; Aigis observing the hectic room while the man continued to flick through his papers.

 “Let’s talk” the man whispered under his breath, his eyes roaming for eavesdroppers.  He discreetly turned towards the robot. “Outside, adjacent to the department there’s a pillar. Follow me 2 minutes after I leave the room. Keep this between us.”

She made an inaudible sound just enough for him to hear and started counting the moment he stepped outside the room. Once she reached 120, she left the lab and advanced to the said location noticing the absence of CCTV cameras and found the man holding a thin plastic folder. She skimmed the data she has on him, recalling the few instances wherein he would talk about missing the family he left home and his daughter. Aigis’ only purpose is to fight Shadows and such trivial knowledge is something she is supposed to wipe out from her hard drives and yet she could not. She does not understand why but there is quite a number of irrelevant data she would rather keep. Like how Kimijima-san and Aizawa-san secretly loves the other despite their conflicts or how Sayama-san took care of her equipment in Yakushima and how Takeba-san’s daughter, Yukari would be turning 7 this October. It was… abnormal. The man noticed her and waved her over. She quickened her pace and reached the side of the pillar where he stood adorned by the light of the moon.

“Thank you for coming, Aigis-kun” he smiled at her to which she replied with a bow. “Let’s get to the chase then. Aigis, what is your duty?”

“To defeat Shadows” She replied almost instantly.

“What about accepting orders from your superiors? Do you consider it your duty as well?”

“My superiors and I have the same duty of fighting Shadows. Answering to their orders is a part of furthering it, so yes.”

“Hmm alright. So you believe that to answer to them is a way of opposing Shadows. Well, what if it was all a lie? Or that they’re not revealing the whole truth to you?”

“I was told to ‘trust’ them. They said that we need to trust each other to fulfil our own ends and then ultimately, our goal.” She said firmly. Eiichiro sighed thinking of how to proceed.

“Let me tell you a secret. It’s impossible to exterminate all Shadows but it IS possible to prevent them from causing a much larger threat, namely a wish-granting deity called Nyx.” He explained. “You see, Shadows are born from human emotions that are mostly negative and I don’t know if you’re aware of it since you’re a robot, but humans have many dark desires. Most of them consist of the desire for death due to hatred or depression. What they don’t want you to know, Aigis, is that most of the people in the Ergo are THAT kind of human. They have so much malice that they’re manipulating and conducting experiments on Shadows in order to create Death, the Harbinger who would call for Nyx. It’s not just about some time manipulation device anymore, Aigis, it’s the sake of human kind that’s at stake here now.”

At the end of his explanation, he handed her the green folder. She opened it to find several specific documents concerning Nyx and what they termed to as ‘The Fall’. As she processed through the documents, she heard something click at her side, followed by the sound of the distinct voices of Eiichiro Takeba, Ikutsuki Shuji and Kouetsu Kirijo. They were talking about whom to trust in the team and heard several names in passing until she heard her own.

_“What about Aigis-kun?”_

_“Ha! The thing’s a weapon, Takeba. It doesn’t matter if she knows or not, she’ll follow our orders.”_

_“She’s not even a person, just an android with a really expensive personality module .I don’t even know what they were thinking when they proposed it to be installed, the fucktards.”_

**_*Click*_** He stuffed the recorder back to his pocket and looked at her with pity. “They don’t ‘trust’ you, Aigis.”

What they said about her being a mere weapon and being human-like simply because of her personality module are all true and yet… _I detect no abnormalities with my hard drives, so why is my center… ‘hurting’ so much?_ “B-But the project would be finished by tomorrow! Also, why would you work with them this far if you hate it so?”

“They know my family, Aigis-kun.” He answered with a shrug. “If I don’t do what they want, they might attack them! Besides, I know almost every single detail of the project. Do you really think they would let me leave that easily?”

“You have very little chance of success, Takeba-san.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I have _you_ then.”

* * *

 

_Whelp, today’s the day._

Ichikawa Shinou, scienti—no, EX- scientist of the Ergo Research Facility is drinking her morning coffee, watching the scenery outside her office window. 16 hours left till the project’s completion and the members are taking turns sleeping. She briefly wondered if she should see it through, after all, she has spent quite a few years in the said project. It was not until only a few days ago did she heard the rumour going around the employees: that its true goal is to bring world destruction or something of the sort. Many who heard it laughed it off and normally, she would too if she didn’t saw the look of Ikutsuki, shadily standing in the corner upon hearing it. People usually take him for granted because of his lame-ass puns and shitty jokes but what truly puts her off about the man is how his dark eyes don’t seem so cheery unlike the rest of himself. What’s worse was how hesitant Eiichiro was when I asked him about the rumour. She still remembers the look on his face when it happened. It was all she could think about while writing her resignation letter.

Takeharu’s usually stern face was even priceless when she handed it to him. Really, she would have taken a snap shot if not for the seriousness of the situation. She heard someone knock on the door and opened it to find— _well, speak of the devil_ —Takeharu Kirijo. She allowed him to come in and poured an extra mug reminding herself not to think too much of the Kirijo pig and his lapdog in fear that they would appear next in her doorstep.

“15 hours and 43 minutes left” the man said looking at his watch. He then nodded his thanks for the mug offered by the woman. He involuntarily took a whiff and paused. “This is…”

“It’s instant, your favourite.” She grinned as he took a sip.

 “What can I say? This inelegant flavour and wonderfully not-rich taste makes me want it more.” Kirijo bantered. Despite the difference in their social standings, the two get along very well. She is one of the few he likes to consider his friend and occasionally serves as his escape from conferences and social parties. The way she treats him like how she would treat any other is a refreshing adjustment.

“It was all that was left in the break area. You should have seen the look on those beasts when I asked if there was any more coffee.” She laughed, remembering the strange shine in the researchers’ eyes. “You should consider allocating more of the financial funds for coffee reserves.”

“Good coffee reserves at that.” He sighed “If this muddy water is the only thing they serve here, I would have quitted too.” He looked up at me with a sad smile. “Or at least it would have been my reason. You’ve never told me why you did it.”

She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck for the incoming assault. “It’s complicated, Kirijo-san.”

“What? Don’t tell me it was all because of those inane rumours? I know that some of them in the team are a little hard to get along to and maybe a little suspicious, but that’s all they are! You should’ve at least seen the project through, Ichikawa. You’ve worked on this project for years now and it’s going to be finished in… 15 hours and 27 minutes!” He said looking up from his wristwatch. “Please, you’re one of the foundations of the Science Department.”

“If I’m so important, they should have told me—no, everyone the REAL reason why they’re doing this blasted project!” She refuted. “It’s not about manipulating time anymore, Kirijo-san. Even you should have figured THAT out.”

He sighed, finding truth in her words. He loves his father and will support him in any way he can but now, he’s not even sure he’s still the same man he loved as a child. For the past few weeks, the man he knew as his father transformed into something more despicable and unruly. The man no longer treats his workers as equals. He’s even spending unusually large amounts of money in expensive clubs and casinos as though the end of the world is near. He remembered how his father’s eyes transformed into something feral whenever something went wrong with work and how it was directed to him that one time he asked for the real goal of the project.

“Alright, Ichikawa, I won’t try to stop you anymore.” He placed his now empty mug on top of the desk and raised his hands in mock surrender. His eyes passed a framed picture of a smiling 5-year old boy on her work table and twinkled at the sight of it.

 “You have someone waiting for you at home, after all. Your Sou-chan would fillet me if I don’t let you go. I know my Mitsuru would if I were in your place.”

“Ahh Mitsuru-chan will take the fillet thing seriously. Souji will recite the countries around the world which is just as worst as being filleted.”

“Oh that doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Of course it doesn’t sound so bad. What’s bad is when he mumbles it with all their major cities and populations… while he’s asleep! I even considered calling the exorcist the first time it happened. Not to mention this one time when-!”

He smiled as she continued to absently ramble about her favourite 5-year old, taking note of her obvious excitement.

_She has a good reason for resigning, after all._

 


	4. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A loss of innocence and how the world turned green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: I'm gonna upload 14 chapters in one go so don't be surprised.

The mechanics are triple checking the equipment. The scientists are reading their manuals over and over, memorizing each word. The researchers have finished in stabilizing the gathered Shadows leaving them to stare at their vital readings instead, their breathing almost matching the fluctuations.

It was truly a magnificent sight for one Ikutsuki Shuji. He checked his wrist watch for the thousandth time, smiling sinisterly at the moving hands which read 11:50 pm.  _10 minutes. 10 FUCKING minutes till midnight._

_Ten minutes and then Death, the Harbinger will come and He will call the Mother to save us from this hellish existence._ He absently let out a wheezy laugh much to the disturbance of those close enough to hear it.

“Excited?” He heard someone ask and whirled to see the current President and CEO of the Kirijo Group, Kouetsu Kirijo smoking a tobacco. He noticed his extravagant suit and tie making the CEO look less a pig and more of a… well, a glamorous pig. Ikutsuki wrinkled his nose from the smoke the man is emitting recalling the different harmful toxins of second-hand smoke. “I’ve spent almost my whole life and half of the Kirijo Group’s funds for this project. It’s hard to believe it’s going to end in a few more minutes. I wonder what it would look like…Death.”

“We’ll find out soon enough.” He replied. “What I’m more worried about is how feral and powerful it would be. The result of a fusion of multiple Shadows… I wonder how many Persona-users it could kill before it gets tired.”

He wandered on the three small confinement cells in the corner of the lab followed by the potbellied man. Each one contained a person constricted by Evokers in the form of chokers which could be controlled by laboratory constituents.

“These are the three most talented Persona-users we have.” The President said showing them off as though they were mere decorations for display. “If there’s anybody who can stop the thing, it’s them.”

“Hmph! Them and maybe a couple of Anti-Shadow Weapons, these three are almost—no, they ARE children!”

“Don’t underestimate them, that’s how they kill their victims.” The man said grinning madly. “You should have seen how the other Shadows scurry away after their little demonstration.”

He then pointed to the middle cell which contained a malnourished girl in a hospital gown with straight, long red hair. Ikutsuki read the small name tag secured tightly on the locks: Chidori Yoshino. “This one is special. Her affinity in healing is so good she could revive dead PLANTS! A lot of them wanted to test if she could do so for humans but her testers are afraid that she would die if we overexert her.”

Ikutsuki’s eyes widened in awe upon hearing it and stared at the fragile girl, scratching the surface of her cell, trying to make some kind of dent. “And the other two?”

“The boys are just as impressive. Ohh you’ll just have to see them in action to make you understa—“

He was cut off by a sharp audible retort in the back of the room. They turned to see what the commotion was all about and saw one of the workers exchange with Takeba.

“But Sir! The data’s- ”

“-FINE! The data’s fine! I’ll verify it in the back consoles myself, alright?!”

The scientist rushed outside the lab and turned a sharp left. Ikutsuki heard the man beside him grumble. “Incompetent bastard… If the project goes to shit because of him I’ll…” the irritated man checked his watch. “3 minutes left. Hey you! What’s this about a data? Is it vital or what!?”

“It’s regarding the fusion contraption, sir. It has a slight malfunction but I think it’s durable enough to pull through with the assault.”

Mumbles of assent were heard throughout the lab when someone in the consoles made a sharp cry.

  


**“60 SECONDS TILL MIDNIGHT, SIR!”**

**  
**

“Alright you dipshits you heard ‘im. Get back to your work stations!”

Every person in the room shuffled back to their places, hands automatically laid on top of their respective consoles while some others prepared the Shadows for what’s to come. **“50!”**

Ikutsuki stood beside the President, trembling with excitement almost as much as his companion. His eyes roamed around the lab observing the anxious faces behind the control panels and the contrasting almost bored expressions of the three powerful locked-up Persona-users. **“40!”**

He scrutinized the Kirijo’s body guards in their black suit and ties still wearing the ridiculous sunglasses, failing miserably to hide their nervousness because of the beads of sweat rolling down the sides of their necks. They would have looked defenseless if not for the visible firearms at the sides of their suits. _Persona-users_ he thought. **“30!”**

He absently felt his sides searching his own weapon and found it, to his relief, present. He pulled it out double checking the ammunition, in case he needs protection. **“20!”**

He spotted the future holder of the Kirijo Group standing at the side lines. He searched for the woman who always seemed to appear by the man’s side and as expected, did not discover her. The latest talk in the lab is the abrupt resignation of the woman and how dejected the younger Kirijo has been because of it. **“15!”**

His eyes roamed some more and saw the particularly talented scientists standing confidently and immediately noticed Takeba’s absence. _Takeba._ He took an involuntary sharp breath. His hands began to tremble as hard as ever. His mind went blank with the numerous recollections spent with the man. He heard the voice of the said man in the back of his head as though begging to be heard.

_I’ll verify it in the back consoles myself, alright?!_

Before his mind could even register it, he found himself sprinting through the room where the back consoles were, breathing ragged and sweating an ocean. He blearily caught his name in the President’s lips along with the ongoing countdown which resonated through the whole building. He saw the familiar room and readied his firearm. He grabbed the doorknob but found it to be locked. He kicked it as hard as he could like the ones he sees in action movies and immediately regretted the decision, cursing his past self for not partaking in any extraneous activities. As the countdown reached **3,** he was reduced to smacking the door repeatedly shouting the name of the assailant several times, dropping his weapon with a resounding clack. **2.** He went down to his knees and sobbed. **1.** On top of his lungs, he screeched the name of the man he has already sworn to kill. **0.**

He felt a mild tremor shake the building and its occupants. Bellows of terror were heard from the laboratory he was in just a while ago followed by a huge explosion. His mind knew that whatever caused the destruction of the lab, it would not rest so easily. Despite his malice, he picked himself up and ran through the halls towards the exit. As he passed the door leading to the lab, he immediately spotted a gaping hole in the ceiling and the several bodies of his co-workers.

But what chilled his blood the most was how a blonde, malnourished teenager in a hospital gown easily clutched the suffocating President Kirijo by the neck, feet hovering in the ground. He saw how the cobalt haired boy loot the cabinets for pills and the red headed girl named Chidori take away the Evokers from the bodyguards’ burned bodies. He ordered his feet to move but it was rooted to the ground. He watched the head of the blonde turn towards him, their eyes met, an eerie smile gracing his lips and he finally managed to run.

Once outside, he gasped for air trying to drive out the smoke from his lungs but was instead reduced in a fit of coughs. Two familiar figures stood with him whom he recognized as the young Kirijo and his female ex-scientist friend, the two backing away from the building as much as possible. He did the same and when he did, an explosion much larger than the one before assaulted the building but that was not what caught his attention. What caught his attention was how the world suddenly turned green, how the woman he saw before was replaced by a coffin and how the research laboratory he once considered a home grew an extra hundred floors.

* * *

  


It happened so fast for the young Souji Seta and his friends.

They were inside the car and he was laughing along with his second family about a joke Minako said and then suddenly, everything turned green and the people he considered as his parents were replaced by huge coffins. An eerie silence descended the Moonlight Bridge, the only sound to be heard were Minako’s stifling sob and her brother’s calm soothing voice.

“Souji, will you check out what’s happening? I’ll handle Minako.”

Souji gave an understanding nod and unlocked the child-safety locks to investigate, trying to put on a brave front. He saw the numerous cars laid out before him and the coffins inside of each. As he was watching the unnaturally gigantic moon, he heard a clash of metal and an unfamiliar sound of breaking cement. He turned around to see a flying human figure and a large shadow he cannot make the image of. The scene unfolded with an exchange of elements: Fire, Wind, Ice, Lightning and some others he does not recognize. _Wh-What’s going on?!_

He opened the car to see his friends watch the exchange in awe and slight wonder. Upon seeing the numerous wrecked cars, he beckoned them to come out.

“Guys, we need to move! Now!”

 Just as they were getting out, a huge fire ball hit the back seats of their car and watched in horror as it was engulfed by flames. Despite the heat of the flame, he moved to the driver’s seat, clutching the top handle of the coffin but did not budge because of its weight.

“Minato, please!”

 Upon his friend’s pleas, Minato helped him pull out the heavy coffin from the driver’s seat. As they were doing so, another nearby car was hit by a ball of fire. Minako yelped and watched as its flames ate away the coffin in its passenger seat, revealing a girl her age melt into a puddle of black tar. Upon seeing the gruesome sight she felt bile scald her throat, begging for release. After what felt like hours of vomiting, not being able to take what’s happening, she collapsed, her dress drenched in her spew. The boys heard the small thud and immediately went over to check the girl.

“Souji, mother's still-!”

Minato pleaded as he cradled his sister in his arms. Souji rushed back and reached the passenger seat. He could hardly see anything with the smoke and the fire and the salty sweat and tears. Pulling out the coffin, he screeched the pain away as his scorched hands once again made contact with the quick dispersal of flames. Thoughts of the good woman surged his mind. Recalling every act of kindness and all the times she lovingly caressed his cheek and her worried voice and merry laughter. He remembered the countless times the family welcomed him with them and the nights he reverently thanked God for gracing him with even the mere presence of such wonderful people in his life.

With these thoughts, he pulled with all the strength he could muster and with the coffin, dropped in the ground in his skinned knees. He removed his wet shirt and frantically and repeatedly smacked the small flames in the edge of the coffin, desperately trying to extinguish them. He let out a sigh of relief as the last of the flames were put out. He limped to his friends trying not to look at his badly burned hands.

“Y-you did it?!” Minato asked anxiously and Souji replied with a weak nod much to the other boy’s relief.

“Minako?” Souji asked not noticing about the slight croak in his voice.

“Yeah, she’s- she’s fine.” Minato answered to which Souji replied with a relieved smile. “I’m more worried about them though. Where’d your shirt go?” He pointed to his friend’s naked chest.

“Uh—somewhere. Anyway, what should we do, Minato? What about your parents?”

“We get away that’s wh—huh?”

Everything became a tad darker. Souji looked up and saw a shadow heading towards them and felt as though the world went slow motion. His mouth went dry and the back of his neck tingled with energy.

**_I am thou_ **

**_And thou art I_ **

He felt an unusual yet familiar voice in the back of his head.

Along with the voice, he heard a static sound and his own heartbeat.

**_The time has come_ **

**_Open thine eyes_ **

He felt a card appear on his bloody palms.

He does not know what it means and he does not know what it would do but…

**_And call forth for what’s within!_ **

**_“Per- so… na!”_ **

He crushed the card, closed their eyes from the surprisingly strong wind and heard a metallic crunch from somewhere far away. They opened their eyes to see a benevolent shimmering figure before them dressed in a long black coat and holding what appears to be a really long katana. He noticed the car that was on top of their heads split seconds ago, already nothing but a hunk of metal a few meters away.

They stared as the creature blocked them from several lightning strikes coming from the ongoing fight. “H-how did you…?!” Minato stammered to his equally dishevelled friend. “Who’s…Where d-did you…!!”

“Th-That’s not important right now!” Souji forced himself to speak and felt something in his head unknot making their helper disappear. “We need to get outta here!”

He pulled his friend’s arm from the ground but found that he wouldn’t budge. Minato shook his head and gestured him to his sister.

“Go on ahead and take Minako with you! If you could call that thing again then she’s safer with you. I’ll drag the coffi—mother and father with me the best I can. You can help me once you’ve carried her away.”

With a nod, Souji took the unconscious girl from Minato’s arms and dragged her to the safest and farthest place he could, shaking his head from thoughts of the events that took place. He was about to go back and assist his friend when he heard a distinct scream. His blood ran ice cold and rushed as fast as his exhaustion could take him. He spotted the human like figure shoot a bright light from her arms and caused the most terrifying creature he has seen in his life get sucked by his best friend’s trembling and floating body. “Mi- m—minato”

After a few more moments, the body dropped, unmoving.

He ran not noticing his erratic breathing, trembling knees and the rushing and gushing tears that seemed to appear out of nowhere, a sob escaping his lips. Halfway in his run, his knees finally buckled from the pressure causing him to slam in the hard cement and yet he still reached and crawled to his seemingly motionless best friend. He finally reached him after what seemed like an eternity and saw that he was breathing. It was shallow but it’s there, it's _there_.

He heard a metallic clanking and saw movement in the corner of his eyes. It was a blonde girl who appeared to be on her teens and he immediately recognized her as the human shaped figure from before. She staggered towards them with her unnatural metallic smoking limbs and watched as her blue eyes scanned Minato.

“Death confined successfully: Mission Complete” she stated with a robotic voice, collapsed in her knees and stayed there kneeling, unmoving but conscious. Souji turned his attention back to the friend in his arms. He could still see in his head how the dark creature was seeped in his friend’s body.

After everything that’s happened that evening he was expecting that the peace would be a welcome change but all the peace did was make him register the different unnatural shades his world now wore and the smells of blood, smoke, gun powder and spilled gasoline.

The silence made him think, the silence made him realize how crazy this all had been and he could not help but feel like everything that happened was his fault. He’s the one who experienced all the crazies first; he should have known that breaking that door has its payment. He should have thought things through before spending time with the people dearest to him and considered the risk of losing them. But no, he did not lose them.

He blankly gazed at the state of his unconscious best friend

What he did was worse, way worse than having them killed. He infected them. He infected his best friend, of all people, with his shitty fate. If only I… If only _she_ …

“I’m not sure what you did to him but I think I have a pretty good idea.” The boy spoke in a hoarse whisper. “That thing—that Monster or whatever that is, going inside him can’t be good.”

“I had no choice.”

“NO! You had a choice… You had a FUCKING CHOICE!!” Souji rebuked, intentionally swearing for the first time in his life. “You should have sealed it in ME, Godammit! I’ve been on this rollercoaster for a day and a half…! It—it wouldn’t have made much of a di-difference if it was…”

He felt his dam broke and bawled his eyes out. He sobbed like there was no tomorrow, ignoring the mild surprise of the watching girl as though just realizing that he truly was just a 5 year old and that there’s only so much a child can take before breaking.

The moment the world turned green, almost half of her components stopped functioning and after her fight with Death, she is being forced to shut down due to exertion but she can’t, because for some unknown reason, she is feeling the need to stabilize the bawling human child. And so she patiently waited for him to calm down, forcing her core drives to continue functioning.

“He’s a good guy, _*hic*_ you know? _*sniff*”_ the boy resumed after his breakdown. “He—they don’t deserve to _*sniff*_ experience something like- like THIS regularly. So I—I should leave now, before I could make things any worse.”

The boy stood wiping his snot and tears with his naked shoulder and upon realizing that he was topless, limped towards one of the coffins to reach for his slightly charred shirt. After putting the cotton on, he wobbled to her still kneeling form and reached for her face with both hands, making her stare in his bright almost silver gray eyes. “I wouldn’t be able to protect my friends from more dangerous monsters afar, that’s why I need you to do me a favour…”

She continued to stare, listening to the words of the child as though they were being given by her highest superior.

“…please protect them. Stay by their sides at all times, Kay?”

“Yes”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

The child sweetly smiled at her response making her feel as though she has completed a vital mission. He turned away and made one last friendly wave to her from afar which as much as she wanted to, could not return. The effort to fight Death with half of her not functioning and listening to the child talk made her completely immobile. So, she settled on watching him depart, limping to the other side of the Moonlight Bridge.

* * *

  


_Shadows went rampant, the lab exploded, I turned into a fucking coffin…_

That last one was enough to make her giggle.

_Seriously, that Kirijo-san can make some really funny jokes._

After the whole ruckus, all Shinou wanted now is a cold shower and a warm bed to sleep on. She briefly considered calling Souji but figured the boy would have been asleep by now. She finally found the intersection heading to her house barely recognizing the sound of fire trucks and police cars heading towards the Kirijo Lab and to… where? She briefly checked where the others were heading and noticed a light smoke engulfing the skies somewhere in the Moonlight Bridge.

_Must be one hell of a car accident if it produced that much smoke… Oh well_

She continued her journey home absently fishing her pockets for the keys when she noticed a dishevelled child lying face down on the ground. She rushed to the boy noticing his smell of smoke and bile. He was breathing much to her relief. She brought him up carefully assessing for any major injuries and found none.

“Oba-chan?” She paused and felt a chill run down her spine as she heard his voice, finally noticing the boy’s familiar frame and distinct light gray hair.

“Souji!?” She carried the light boy in his arms and rushed to the road calling for the first cab she saw.

After blurting out the name of the hospital and pleading the driver to go as fast as possible, she assessed the boy’s condition more closely. He has no fatal injuries and the worst damage was his slightly scorched hands and badly scraped knees but the boy’s exhaustion was obvious. She felt him tug in her arms giving her a weak smile “I thought you’re not going back until tomorrow?”

She was about to ask where he got his injuries but one look from him stopped the words to come out of her mouth. _Was it too painful for him to recall? Trying to forget?_ _I’ll ask when he’s all better._

“Ahhhh my work went a little crazier than usual today. One more day in that shi—I mean office, isn’t worth it. I’m glad I resigned earlier.” she went along with him as though nothing’s the matter.

She heard the boy chuckle seeming to catch her obvious almost- swear.  “But you don’t have a job anymore. How can you pay the bills?”

“I’ll find another job, a little less crazy this time. Something boring; I’ve seen enough crazies to last a lifetime”

“Boring huh? What, like a bookstore?”

“Nah, there’s already a bookstore somewhere in Iwatodai Station. The couple who runs it are really nice, I would hate to run them out of business or something.”

“Well, what’s more boring than a bookstore then?” he asked with a raised eyebrow

“An antique shop.”

“Oh that sounds nice. And then you can open it in Paulownia mall.”He said with a smile

“There’s the Escapade, a café, an arcade, a jewelery shop, a karaoke… isn’t that a little too exciting for an antique shop?“ she asked

“It’s too exciting, needs more boring, besides there’s also the Police Station.”

“I’d stand out like a sore thumb!”

“Good! You can stand out like a sore thumb with Officer Kurosawa.” He laughed and she smiled in relief, a little happy for at least making him forget the pain. He yawned after his fit, snuggling on the woman for comfort, trying to hide as much portion of his hand as he can. The woman let him snuggle against her and after a few moments of silence she was surprised to find him still awake when he spoke.

“Oba-chan?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you but I don’t want to live here anymore.”

She looked down at the child she’s been looking after for two years and ignored the slight prickle in the back of her eyes at the sound of the L-word directed to her. She smoothed his gray bowl cut hair that she was sure she would miss and failing miserably as she forced her voice not to waver as she answered.

“Alright, kiddo”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s right. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Shinou is the future owner of Shinshoudou Antique Shop. After researching, I don’t think she was given a name in the game so I gave her one. I also recall how she mentioned that she can’t use her Persona so I guess that she’s inactive in the Dark Hour too but I dunno… Please inform me if you know anything about it, kay? Facts, opinions, suggestions or whatever… Thank you!
> 
> Next chapter: Grown up Souji at last


	5. 10 Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Milk bottles, crotches and a reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just noticed how wordy these are. Young wordy me would like to apologize.

A young 15 year old man carrying bags of groceries is making way to a back alley in Inaba

“Hey you!”

He flinched cursing himself for being caught by one of the gang members. He slowly turned and peeked behind him to find 7 muscular men hanging out in the trash bins. He adopted his innocent smile matching it with a slight tilt in the head. “Y-yes?”

“C'mere,”

He quick but timidly did so causing them to chuckle for finding another plaything. After the brief laughter the leader stood from the trash bins he has been sitting on and appraised the young man “You got some guts showing yer pretty face around here...”

“I-I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been doing some favours for some people…”

“Yeah? Lemme see yer bags.”

The teen’s eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights.“B-but it’s not yours! And they’re _very_ delicate…”

“Oh come on! We're all friends here, right? Ha ha!” the leader howled as he pulled out a milk bottle from one of the bags. “Milk? You call this delicate?”

“Here, let me show you…” The young man placed his other bag on his other hand and gently clasped the top of the bottle. A flick in his hand later left the giant unconscious. A series of exclamations was heard followed by the bellows of men rushing at the boy with metal pipes and knives. Some would think that he is a crony for some drug infested biker gang for entering there. But no, he’s not a crony for drug addicts; He’s much worse…

He’s a crony of the Velvet siblings. (AKA: slave)

The elusive young man easily dodged the attacks and when the openings show themselves, he quickly thrusts the milk bottle in the noses of his assailants causing them to shield it in pain which in turn caused their crotches to be the next target of the end of the milk bottle. Howls of pain and curses later left him with a bloody milk bottle and a gruesome sight of four close-to-circumcised men on the ground, all clutching their respective groins. One of the men suddenly came to a realization, voicing it out for his two companions to hear. “G-guys! This guy is bad news, I’ve heard of ‘im!!!”

“Huh?! Whadya mean?”

 “They all say it’s just a myth but… young, bowl-cut gray hair; There’s no mistaking it…”

The boy, still holding his groceries, slowly approached the three cornered men wearing the same innocent smile they’ve seen earlier. “They say he’s been travelling all around Japan, dominating every gang hideout and some Yakuzas!! He’s the leader of 21 of the 47 prefectures of Japan…”

The teenager irked at the description “W-what?! No! I-I'm not a gang leader!”

“… Aniki-Souji Seta!”

The two other gang members gasped at the recognition and quickly, all three of them took on a seiza position while the teen frantically waved his arms in frustration “Forgive us, Aniki."

“I-I said I'm not a-!”

“Aniki!” He was caught off by a group of brawny men dressed in leather jackets “Souij-aniki, we thought we heard a fight! Are you okay?!”

One of the new members pointed a shaky finger at the 4 nearly disembowelled men and stared at him with admiration “You truly are a legend!” to which Souji replied with a withering look.

As the men are busily admiring his work, the three assailants-turned-victims slowly backed away at nearest exit to find a wall of massive muscles looking at them with revulsion. “Aniki, what're we gonna do with these punks?”

Remembering his three supposedly would-be-victims, he nonchalantly walked to them. “Ah, listen here you three” the three kneeling people tentatively looked up to the young man. “You’ve got it all wrong, alright? I’m not a gang member or gang leader or yakuza, aniki or whatever you’ve been hearing about… I’m just an ordinary guy in high school, you got it?”

The three nodded and Souji continued his speech. “So, go on now. Shoo. Spread the word and don’t do anything bad again or I’ll strangle you in your sleep.”

The men stood up and ran screaming “Thank you, aniki!”, “We're your followers for life!” and a shrill “You're the god of bikers and yakuzas!”

Upon hearing this, the rest of the goons stared at him in awe as though coming to the same conclusion of the last comment. “ALL HAIL, ANIKI!” and started bowing causing the boy to become pale and sprint followed by his ‘newly converted’ followers. _What did I do to deserve this?_

He parkoured in the back alleys and tall buildings he has been memorizing if ever the need arises. His speed and nimbleness was no match to the huffing and puffing muscles. After overrunning them, he made one last sharp turn finally spotting the glowing blue door of his childhood. He felt a familiar pull and produced a key out of thin air, quickly plunging it in the keyhole.

“I'm back!” He announced his entrance and immediately saw a familiar girl wearing a mischievous smile.

“Oh my, I did not know the leader of our neighboring drug addicts will be visiting us today.” She spotted his two bags and immediately clapped in excitement. “He even brought groceries, how charming!”

“I’m not their leader and they’re not addicts, just… biker gangs.” He defended.

“Yes I know, I’ve heard there’s a roaming badass high schooler in the alleys. They say that if you convert to his religion, you’ll be a changed man.”

“That highschooler wouldn’t be forced to do that if his friends don’t keep on shifting their hideout in a back alley all the time. Anyway where’s the other two?” He asked and heard footsteps. He turned to see the two other assistants.

“Right here, Master or do you prefer to be called ‘Aniki’ now?” The usually prim woman jested making him wonder if he really does make a better plaything than Theo. The man’s in question eyes sparkled with mirth as though reading his thoughts, submerging himself with the feeling of not being his sisters’ plaything for once. “We’ve been eagerly waiting for your arrival. I trust that you were successful?”

He indicated to the grocery bags “Yup”

He strode to the same room, sat in the very same chair he was tied on years ago and placed the bags on the floor beside the tea table. The siblings followed him and sat to the couch adjacent to him, each pulling out a long strip of paper. “Now let’s see if you got it right.”

“Oh please, I practically raided Shiroku and Daidara. With how much they’re getting from me, they could close their shops for a year and not go hungry.” He pulled the contents of the bags revealing medicines, miscellaneous items and weapon materials. “Where do you even use bead chains for when you have Mediarahan?”

“Personal reasons” Margaret replied as she continued to check on her list

Souji snorted and pulled out a particularly huge object from one of the bags. “Hey Lizbeth, I got this one for you. I couldn’t imagine you using it though.”

Elizabeth squealed at the sight of the scrub brush and proceeded to bend the stick, testing its flexibility before nodding in approval. “This would be perfect. Thank you.”

Souji patiently waited as the siblings continued to check their shopping list, absently opening the milk bottle he’s been using earlier and began to drink it. After they finished going through the list, Theo picked up the bags, carrying it on the side. Souji, having finished his bottle, looked expectantly at the three “I got you what you wanted, spill.”

“Of course, but are you sure about this?” Margaret asked “Once we reveal the cause of the recent Shadow disturbances, you would without a doubt, be dragged on it.”

“I know that these disturbances are different than usual but it’s been bugging me, Marge. I can’t help but worry especially when I could assist in some way.”

“Yes, but you would have too much on your plate. You do realize that this isn’t supposed to be a part of your Journey, yes?”

“I also awakened to my power 10 years ago but that’s not supposed to happen until next year.”

After a moment of contemplation and sharing a look with her siblings, she pulled out a white slip of paper and handed it to him. “What’s this?”

“Your ticket to the answer you seek.”

“And that would be… where?”

Marge smiled wistfully as though recalling a fond memory “Let me give you a hint: It’s where it all started.”

He gave her a puzzled look before proceeding to stare at the blank ticket, thinking hard. _Where it all started Where it all started Where it all….huh?_ Slowly, the blank ticket shifted and one by one, letters began to be engraved on the paper. It was as though the letters has always been there; he just hasn’t discerned them yet. He stared at the now coherent words, feeling his mouth agape. Before the words formed, in the back of his head, he knew what was going to appear; he just finds it hard to believe it.

“B-but this is-!” He looked up, expecting the blonde woman but did not find her. He instead found plastic seats, metal railings and staring passengers. He ignored the disapproving stares and instead whirled his head, noticing the darkness displayed in the windows. _Where am I?_ He observed the light, continuous vibration in his surroundings. _A train? And since when did it become night time?_

He felt a thick strap in his shoulder and found a huge bag at his side. He was about to open it when his phone rang. “Hello?”

**_“Souji-kun”_** He heard the recognizable voice of his blonde friend **_“I hope you found the transportation satisfactory?”_**

“Yeah, it’s fine. I just wish that you could have INFORMED me that I’ll be on one.” He watched through the windows “Please tell me this isn’t one of Lizbeth’s pranks. I still remember that one time she sent me to China cuz I forgot to bring her topsicles.”

**_“This is no prank, don’t worry.”_** She chuckled **_“You wanted to know about what’s causing the Shadow disturbance, correct? We were told by our Master to assist you if you were to continue to persist in the matter.”_**

“Oh okay but why did you give me such a huge luggage?”

**_“Luggage? Ah I see, that is no luggage, Souji-kun. It’s for your living expenses.”_ **

“Living expenses?”

He balanced the phone with his shoulder in his ear and opened the bag to find—“WHAT THE HELL, MARGE.” He hissed, almost dropping the phone, his eyes widening at the bundles of cash stashed inside the bag. He immediately sealed the bag, hiding its contents from the eyes of the other passengers and whispered at his contact. “Living expenses?! How many years am I supposed to stay in wherever you’re sending me? Twenty?!!”

**_“Oh my, I’m sorry was it too much?”_** She asked innocently. If it was Elizabeth he was speaking to, he would think that she’s mocking him. **_“And as for the duration of your stay, I’d say it would take about a year.”_**

“And? How many generations of my family are you planning to enslave to make me pay you back with this?”

**_“None. The two wanted to partake on lending you currency but I insisted on paying by myself. I imagine they had the same idea you did. As for me, you don’t have to pay me back, it’s just pocket money after all.”_ ** _Just how rich are these bastards? **“Please rest easy, Souji-kun. It’s going to be your first day tomorrow.”**_

“First day? Of what??”

**_“School. You are already wearing your uniform, in fact.”_ **

“Huh?” He looked down to see that he was indeed wearing a uniform. But it was not the one of Yasogami High that he was familiar with. “What school did you enroll me in?”

**_“Gekkoukan High. I believe Theo slipped a pamphlet inside your coat. You can get directions from there.”_ **

“* _Sigh_ * And where am I supposed to stay in the whole year?”

**_“Hmm you’ll see.”_ **_Oh great she’s rubbing on Igor too much._ Just then he heard a notice of the next stop: Iwatodai **_“It’s quite late. I suggest that you stay in a hotel if you are ever in need of lodging, however unlikely that is. See you.”_**

“W-wait!” He called “Marge, ‘bout my T.V.….?”

**_“I know, Souji-kun. It will arrive in a few days.”_ **

He sighed in relief, internally thanking Igor for making the mature one his official assistant _If this was Elizabeth, she would have cut me off a long time ago._ “Thanks, Marge.”

**_“Goodnight, Souji-kun.”_ **

He snapped his phone shut and stood, bag at hand the moment he caught sight of the station, barely registering the voice from the overhead speakers. He briefly wondered what his friends in Inaba would think about his sudden departure. _Well that’s the use of e-mails and phone calls and chats and…_

_Televisions_

* * *

 

_Tch. Small fries_

A high school senior boxer by the name of Akihiko Sanada adjusted his gloves after another brief fight with the creatures wandering outside Tartarus. He continued his walk in Iwatodai catching sight of the top of the tower in Port Island. He was itching for some real action but he knew that a certain red-headed valedictorian would execute him first before he could get a step inside. _Better safe than sorry._ Besides, he would have to walk past the bridge, not that he minded, it’s just that the bridge’s a tactical place to get him cornered.

He was in front of the Iwatodai Train Station when he caught a light, almost inaudible shuffle in his back. He whirled raising his arms in defence just in time to be hit by blunt metal. The man crumpled with the force and the pain, looking up to see a large blue mask sinisterly looming over him. Behind the boss Shadow’s back are numerous other Shaows. _How did I not see them?!_ Three of its many arms raised their blunt metal swords, preparing for an attack but was caught off guard when the boxer rushed in pummelling the creature. He was able to take a few hits but had to dodge more incoming attacks. _This thing’s much stronger than usual!_

He retreated, sprinting towards the direction of the dorm when one of its arms caught his foot causing him to sprawl. The monster lifted him by the arm almost crushing it with the force. He helplessly glowered at the mask, looking for a way to escape when a sudden burst of flames seared the fiend’s back and a few of its followers. _M-Maragidyne?!_

The monster let out a sharp cry of pain before inadvertently releasing him. He clutched at his throbbing arm and shoulder, looking up to see a young man with light bowl cut gray hair, slightly darker than his and wearing a Gekkoukan High uniform. On top of the boy is a fading image of a hovering horned man with six wings. _He summoned a persona without an Evoker? How?!_

While the monster is still writhing, Akihiko ran to the stranger’s side, avoiding the minor Shadows and grabbed him with his good arm. “Come on, let’s go!” The young man nodded, adjusting his bag and followed him as he ran. The senior tapped at his communication device, praying for a response.

**_“Command room… Is that you, Akihiko?”_ **

“You’re not gonna believe this…! This thing’s huge! Unfortunately I don’t have time to talk… It’s chasing us. I wanted to let you guys know we’re almost there”

He let go of the device and continued his sprint, barely registering the soft taps of feet behind his own. _He’s still there. Good._ “We’re almost there…! Don’t look back, just keep running and stay close to me!”

“Okay!”

He grinned to himself, impressed with the boy’s stamina. _He’s gonna make a good addition._

“Agh!”

They managed to reach the dorm, sweaty and out of breath. He saw a familiar flare of read calling out his name.  “Akihiko!”

“We’re alright.”

“Who's this?!”

“I picked him up along the way. Anyway, get ready to be surprised… it’ll be here any second.”

“This is no time to joke around!”

“Is it one of them Akihiko?” the chairman asked

“Yeah but not an ordinary one” Just then a light tremor shook the building

One of the newest members, Yukari Takeba yelped “You have got to be kidding me!”

The level headed Kirijo began to give out orders. She scrutinized the gray haired boy taking note of his blank look, not knowing if it is due to shock or if he's really just level headed. She did not want any casualties but if he didn’t transmogrify despite being the Dark Hour then…they need all the help they can get. “Can you fight?” But before the teen could utter a reply, he was cut off by the injured yet smirking male.

“Yes, he can. He just summoned his Persona a while ago actually.”

The astounded woman stared at the newcomer with a new light but still reluctant on letting him fight because of his lack in experience. The young man seeming to have read her expression gave her a determined look. “I’ll help”

They heard the low growls outside growing closer to the front door. Mitsuru quickly grabbed the first weapon she laid her hands on at the back of the counter for emergencies and lent it to the teen. The young man inspected the weapon and nodded his thanks to the woman for the slightly blunt yet seemingly effective weapon: a katana. Akihiko stood up from the floor, trying not to wince at the pound in his head. Mitsuru walked in front, shared a look with the men and opened the door.

* * *

 

“Stress and over fatigue, just give him a few days to rest. I’ll notify the school’s administration for his upcoming absences.”

“Thank you”

The brunette with slightly red hair gave her thanks to the departing doctor before returning to her unconscious brother’s side. She wasn’t so sure what happened about an hour ago but what she _is_ sure of is that she’ll stay by his side until he recovers. She grasped her brother’s right hand, leaning on the side of the bed out of exhaustion. Despite the recent happenings, she wasn’t too worried about him. She knows that he’s tough and that he’ll pull through. She took a sneak peek at the third occupant of the room, Yukari shifting uncomfortably in her seat on the other side of Minato’s bed. She couldn’t help but avert her gaze out of respect, she understands her trepidation. She herself wasn’t so sure if she could pull the trigger of a gun on her head even if it’s fake. “Please Yukari-chan, it’s okay and I’m sure my brother would understand too.”

“B-but…! I was the one supposed to protect you, not the other way around!” She exclaimed “Really, Minako-chan, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

“SHH! If you apologize one more time I’m gonna eat that strawberry pudding hidden at the far end of the fridge!”

“…” _Ha! So it_ is _hers._

“It’s already happened. All you can do now is practice!” She smiled at her friend “I was frozen on the spot too, after all. If I berate you, I’d appear like a hypocrite.”

“Thanks,”

“No problem! So uh… you seem to know what’s going on. Care to explain?”

“I’m not sure if I’m the right person to explain. I’m almost just as new as you guys, y’know. Our sempais are the ones you should ask, sorry.”

Minako nodded in understanding before realizing something. “Hey, you just apologized again! Guess ‘Imma gonna eat your pudding when we get back!” she sniggered

“NOOO!”

Their light giggles stopped when they heard a knock on the door. They turned to see Mitsuru and a newly bandaged Akihiko. “How is he?”

“The doctor said he needs a few days of sleep, not that that’s any different from what he usually does.” Minako sighed. “What about sempai?”

“I’m fine. I would need to skip on my training regimens though.” He grimaced “By the way, my name’s Akihiko Sanada. I wish we could have met under better circumstances.”

“Minako Arisato” She smiled warmly “Speaking of circumstances, does this happen regularly because we just might change dorms if that’s so.”

“Please don’t. As for how often it happens, well…” He looked at Mitsuru

“Very well, I’ll explain but before I do please call him in, Akihiko. I imagine he must be confused as well” The man left the room calling for his name. “We found someone with the same potential as you. And although his arrival was due to pure coincidence, it is certainly a welcome.”

The door opened again revealing the male sempai and a tall young man with gray hair and eyes. Minako caught herself staring at the handsome yet familiar guy. _Why does he look so much like…?_

“Everyone, this is-”

A loud clatter cut the woman off and everyone stared at a very pale faced Minako, standing and knees shaking. She whimpered “S-Sou-chan?”

His eyes widened upon the recognition of his old nickname. _There are only two people who call me that._ “Minako…”


	6. Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Souji has some explaining to do.

When Souji found out that he would be returning to Iwatodai, he started to reminisce about his times with his friends. He did not however expect to meet them again. He gawked at the teenage girl who called out his old nickname. He stared at her familiar reddish brown hair and wide ruby eyes. He felt an unfamiliar strain in his neck realizing that she’s been stepping towards him. _I’m looking down? She used to be taller than me, righ-- ?_

_*SLAP!*_

He landed on his behind, his bag dropping with him. He opened his eyes to see her looking down on him, her once shocked eyes now burning with absolute animosity, grief and… elation? “That’s for leaving.” She snatched at his collar and socked his abdomen. “That’s for breaking your promise.”  She took a step back, still gripping his collar. He stiffened at the split second before her leg connected to his crotch. _HNNGGGH!_

He collapsed trembling on the floor. He saw Akihiko in the corner of his eyes, probably contemplating if he should help him or not while the women wore stunned expressions at the sudden turn of events. The sweetheart turned devil glowered at his quivering form but for reasons he could not fathom, he wheezed at her. “And … and what’s that for?”

He saw Akihiko’s jaw drop and the other women’s eyes widen at his response. After a moment of silence, her once red face finally started to return to its original color and her once scalding eyes turned into one that of screaming disappointment. “For making nii-chan cry.”

He felt his breath hitch at the words and suddenly his tongue felt like such a mouthful. He should have remained quiet. He shouldn’t have asked. Suddenly, all those blows in his body felt numbing compared to her powerful words and the slipping tears on her cheeks. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the gentle yet firm hold of his friend, engulfing him with the familiar warmth he has always secretly loved when they were children. “If you ever run off again, I’m going to hunt you down and chain you.”

She sobbed in his shirt as she held him, releasing a few hiccups and sniffs. The others avert their eyes at the very personal and intimate scene. Despite the comforting contact, he couldn’t help but cringe at his still raw… limb. _I’ll have to apologize to those biker gangs when I get back._

“I- I’m sorry” He apologized as he courteously stroked her back in an attempt to stop the tears. After a few moments she got up and left the room, mumbling ‘rest room’ while wiping her puffy eyes. He gazed at her retreating form, still finding it hard to believe that he’s met her again. He heard a sigh escape from Mitsuru’s lips. “We’ll continue this another time. I imagine that you two still have important things to ‘settle’.”

“Pfft. Yeah, no kidding. Remind me not to mess with her.” Akihiko snorted before prodding him as he continued to stare at the door. “Your Ex?”

“Childhood friend”

“Ouch” The senior winced and proceeded to rub his back whispering words of consolation.

The door he has been staring at suddenly opened revealing the chairman with a concerned look. “What happened to Minako-chan?”

With the help of Akihiko, he stood up from the floor, dusting himself and grabbing hold of his bag before muttering. “It’s… it’s complicated”

“Well anyway don’t worry about the hospital bills; I’ve taken care of it.” He smiled at them “I’ve also called the admins, I managed to convince them to free you all from tomorrow’s classes due to over fatigue from ‘extra curricular activities’ so you can return to the dorms whenever.”

They nodded at him appreciatively, Mitsuru voicing it for all of them. “Thank you, Chairman”

“No problem, it’s my job after all. More importantly…” He looked at the newcomer “You seem to have just arrived in the city. Do you have any proper lodgings yet? You can stay with us.”

“Thanks but not tonight.” He glanced at the sleeping blunette reminding him too much of the incident years ago “I want to accompany her in watching out for Minato. We have some catching up to do.”

“Okay but remember to ‘catch’ some sleep too! Haha get it? You’re ‘catching’ up to her and-”

Akihiko face palmed at the forced joke “Chairman please, you’re going to break my other arm.”

“Haha alright alright I’ll be going now! I still have some new exciting data to work on. Mitsuru, the car you requested is on the lobby.” He left the room waving a hand

“Yes, thank you” She turned to Yukari “You can go on ahead. Akihiko and I still have meds to pick.”

“You sure it’s okay?” After receiving a nod from the woman, she stood up from her seat momentarily bowing to the others “Then I’ll be going now. And um sorry for freezing up a while ago… it really was scary.”

“It’s alright, Takeba. It’s quite common for first timers. Goodnight”

She left the room with a new resolve promising to pull the trigger the next time she gets the chance.

Souji leaned on the wall, absently rubbing his cheek with the reddening slap mark. He briefly considered taking the seat Yukari left in but decided against it figuring it’s rude to sit while his two sempais are standing. He assessed Minato’s condition finding some very few bruises, much to his relief but noticed his prominent eye bags, a sign of stress. “Does this happen very often?”

“A Perona’s awakening takes a huge toll on its user but Arisato here is a very special case.” Mitsuru explained “We’ve been dealing with Personas and Shadows for years and yet we’ve never seen a Persona transmutation… and a Shadow that powerful, although expected is still very rare.”

“Speaking of powerful…” Akihiko started “for a first timer, that’s some real ass kicking you did back there. You trained in swords?” upon receiving a nod, the senior chuckled “Thought so! The way you moved speaks experience like Mitsuru over here.”

Mitsuru nodded in confirmation “You were very versatile. Despite appearing to be trained at two-handed swords, you handled your weapon very well. It’s as though you’ve been fighting Shadows all this time.”

He would’ve made a nice fountain if he had been drinking at the time.

“That’s nothing compared to your fencing and boxing …but thanks anyway.”

“We should get going. It’s nice meeting you, Seta”

“See you around, Souji.”

The seniors left after receiving a nod from their kohai. They proceeded to walk towards the elevator heading for the lobby when Akihiko broke the silence. “He’s pretty interesting, huh? He acts so calm for a new comer.”

“Hn, I couldn’t tell if he has knowledge of Personas to begin with or he just doesn’t really care. Either way, he’s competent and that’s all that matters in the end, yes?”

She turned sombre as she remembered the assault of Shadows while protecting the dorm’s entrance. She recalled his graceful yet lethal strokes and how he finished the remaining Shadows with a Megidolaon spell so powerful she swore she heard the skies rumble and felt the ground crack. “With his skills, he does not even have a great need for his Persona… Helel was it? It seems unusually powerful for a beginner.”

“Combine him with our special member… heh-the Shadows would have a field day.” Akihiko smiled dreamily at the possibilities.

“After years of fighting Shadows with such few members, I thought it was a major victory to be able to recruit Takeba and then suddenly all these ridiculously powerful Persona-users show up.” Mitsuru voiced out her concern. “Someone who can transmute Personas, a guy you just randomly picked up with a specialization in Almighty spells… I’m starting to get a little worried about what Minako Arisato can do.”

Akihiko smirked, clenching his fists in anticipation. “You should, you did saw what she did to the poor guy a while ago, right?” He internally shriveled as he recalled the ‘critical hit to the nads’ “That’s ‘Execution v.2’ if I ever see it.”

* * *

 

_I can’t believe it_

Minako mulled over the recent events that happened in the span of a few hours. _Shadows. Guns. Onii-chan. Souji-_

_Souji_

_Oh my God, Souji’s back…_

_And I welcomed him with a kick in the nuts_

She could still hear the imaginary(?) crunch that would’ve made her brother very proud.

_Is it possible to make a guy infertile with a kick in the nuts? He deserves it but hmm… I wonder if I should apologize. Nah_

She left the rest room with a newly washed face but still slightly puffy eyes. She opened the door to her brother’s room to see that her dorm mates have left leaving her childhood friend beside her brother in the seat Yukari was in just a while ago. He was blankly staring at her brother and was stirred as she closed the door. She wasn’t so sure what to say after her little riot. “You didn’t leave.”

“I’m worried” He shrugged “And it doesn’t feel like I was supposed to.”

“Hn” She doesn’t know how to reply to that as she makes her way to her previous spot.

“That and I don’t have anywhere to stay in.”

“Oh please, Sou-chan you know better than to say that.” She rolled her eyes briefly wondering if he’s turned dumb over the years.

“What do you mean?”

“You could stay with us, of course. Duh.”

“Even after I left?” he asked cautiously

“BECAUSE you left!” she exclaimed “And now that you’re here again… Did you really think we’ll let you go that easily?”

He stared at her. Truthfully, he was very tempted to accept the offer Ikutsuki gave him but have been worried on how Minako and her brother would react. And after her breakdown... “R-really?”

“REALLY! Geez just because I kicked you in the nads…” She pouted “Or are you planning to leave us again?”

“NO! No… just-a little surprised is all. _*phew*_ I was a little worried that you wouldn’t approve.”

“Nah not really and I’m sure nee-chan would want you to stay too.”

“Yeah, thanks.” he gave her a relieved smile. A moment of silence descended on them, neither knowing what to say to the other. When it got a little suffocating, she was forced to break the ice raising the topic they’ve been avoiding. “Why?”

Souji saw the question coming and reluctantly answered the question with another one, careful not to reveal overly too much in case she doesn’t know what she’s dealing with.

“Do you remember the day I left?”

“It was Sunday. We ate out.”

“Yeah but on our drive back… you remember anything?”

“ _*Scoff*_ It may have been the night you left Sou-chan but that doesn’t mean I remember every last detail.” Despite her initial protest, she grudgingly recalled the events with difficulty “Lessee… we ate out and then on our way home, something happened… Oh yeah! That’s when the accident in the Moonlight Bridge happened, right? There were a lot of casualties and we lost our car but luckily, we got out.”

“Yeah but remember HOW we got out?”

“Hrmm uh no? That’s weird…it’s all blurry but I could remember the aftermath just fine. I woke up in a room with mom and dad. They say nee-chan and I fell unconscious.” Her eyes widened “…and you weren’t there. They all searched for you and we were really worried that you might’ve been one of the casualties but your body didn’t show up. Nobody knew where you went. I was found a little further away from the rest so they asked questions and stuff but I was unconscious so I didn’t know what to say. The docs said I hit my head which must have been why I can’t…huh, that’s really weird.”

She stared at him “Where did you go, Souji? Why— _how_ did you leave?”

“It’s complicated, Minako.” He cut her off before she could manage a retort “No! Please, it really _is_ complicated and I _don’t_ want to lie to you. It’s like- like _this evening_ complicated, you get it?”

“This evening complicated? Huh. I never thought it could get any more complicated than that.” She looked at him in the eye trying to see if he’s telling the truth or just trying to get away. “ _*Sigh*_ Fine, you win. It’s not like I’m expecting you to budge anyway. Don’t think you’ll get away with explaining though.”

“If you were to recall what happened that midnight, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Deal” She resumed her watch on Minato “It really has been so long, huh? When you followed Akihiko-sempai in the room, I barely recognized you. If it weren’t for your haircut, I would’ve thought that you’re his relative or something.”

“You’ve really changed yourself, but your brother over here…” He gestured to the patient “Sleeping when I left; still sleeping when I’m back. Why am I not surprised?”

_‘Sleeping when I left’? He was conscious then?_

“You know how he is.” She briefly smiled at him, feeling nostalgic “It’s good to have you again, Souji.”

“What? No more ‘Sou-chan’?” He chuckled “Thanks, Minako. It’s good to see you guys again too.”

Feeling like no more words are needed they returned to watching the still sleeping Minato, occasionally stealing peeks and glances from the other. A small smile managed to escape Minako’s lips as she took in the situation they’re in. Despite the horrors they faced and will face again, they still got some stroke of luck along the way. _Look nii-chan, there’s three of us again._

* * *

 

When the two seniors, a junior and the Chairman came back in the morning to check on them in the room, they weren’t expecting them to be all cuddling with one another. They caught the girl sleeping beside her brother on the bed while the other guy appears to have been pulled by the said girl, gripping his wrist forcing his torso to sprawl in the other side of the bed with his legs left hanging. The night left them so drained they didn’t care what position they’re in.

 It was a ridiculous but somewhat endearing view that Yukari decided to take a picture, giggling. After making backup copies of the said picture in case Minako ever gets a hand on it, they finally decided to wake them up. They stirred in their sleep, Minako groggy while the other one simply opened his eyes retaining his neutral expression except for a small crease between his eyebrows.

“Ugh this must be what a hangover feels like…”

“It’s not” Souji absently remarked and quickly followed it up upon realizing the words “N-not that I would know.”

“Now that we’re all here, let’s continue where we left off.” Ikutsuki said and continued upon spotting the alert faces of the two. “Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?”

“Excuse me…?” she asked, baffled while the male teenager forced himself not to double up at the absurdity of it all as he thought inwardly.

_Would you believe me if I said that there’s a world of Shadows inside of TVs?_

* * *

 

“It might be a little late to say this since you first arrived last night but…” The boxer said before opening the door to the entrance “Welcome to the Iwatodai Dorm”

“Oh wow, that’s original.” He remarked sarcastically but smiled nonetheless “Wherever did they get that name from?”

“Haha I thought of the same thing when I first heard of it!” He laughed “Hey, I know you must not have a very nice first impression but this dorm really is great. I hope you guys stay.”

They heard Minako snigger “Yeah, you should reeaaallyy work on giving your first impressions of this place. Right Yukari?” she elbowed at her friend who weakly glared at her with a coloured face.

“You’re not going to let me live that down are you?” She grumbled as she made her way to the couches.

After their explanation in the hospital, Minako and Souji decided to give their final answer about joining S.E.E.S only when Minato wakes up. They couldn’t just assume that he’ll be approving of everything especially after what happened to him, after all.

The chairman along with Mitsuru came up from behind and gestured to him a paper which needs to be signed upon entry which he quickly adhered to. As he signed, Mitsuru enumerated the rules and regulation of the dorm. “That’s it. Do you have any questions?”

“Which room will I be staying?”

“Second floor, the first door in the right” She handled him his keys. “ _Don’t_ lose it.”

“Roger. Thanks, I’ll go unpack now. Please excuse me.” He said as he retreated after taking the key to the woman. He plunged his keys, dropped his bag and assessed the room that he would most likely be staying at for the rest of the year. He took note of the hidden camera in the corner. _I’ll have to bust it once my TV gets here._

He pocketed the keys and felt something in his pocket, immediately recognizing it as his phone. He flipped open to see 42 new messages and 57 missed calls. _Alright, how the hell did I not feel that?_

He tapped a few buttons directing a call to his buddy. _Oh man, they must be so angry right now._ “Hello, Yos—”

**_“PARTNER?! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!!!??”_ **

He swore as he distanced his phone from his ear still hearing the piercing shouts of different voices. Some of them made him cringe like the particularly loud shouts of Kanji and the deep bellows from his uncle Dojima. _Oh crap, even uncle’s there…_

He waited for a few minutes till they calmed down. He hears someone suggest switching the phone into speaker mode and breathed a sigh of relief. _Nice one, Yukiko!_

Upon hearing the familiar switch of the speaker mode, he spoke “Finally decided to calm down, eh?”

**_“S-sorry, man it’s just that—You know what? I’m_ not _sorry. Where are you, Partner?!”_**

“ _*Sigh*_ It’s a bit complicated but long story short, I’m stuck in here.”

He then heard his uncle bellow **_“Stuck?! What do you mean stuck?!”_**

“I can’t leave this place without finishing my um-work.” He finished lamely

**_“Work?! What the fu-”_** He was cut off by Yosuke

**_“Dojima-san, please. Partner, when you say ‘work’, do you mean ‘work’ as a- how do I say this? Changer of Men??”_ **

Souji cringed. When his friends and uncle interrogated him where he’s been going after school and during holidays, it was the very first thing that came into his mind. “ _I fight evil_ ”- was what he blurted out, instead what they heard was something like- _“I convert drug addicts and biker gangs and other bad people”_ which has been The Talk in the neighbourhood and in school at the time. He never tried to correct them since it’ll give him an excuse to randomly disappear to fight in the other side but every time they mention it, his dignity slips a little bit at the time.

“No..um- not this time, though they ARE related in the way that it’s for the good of many.”

He hears the startled voice of Yukiko **_“Souij-kun, you mean…!”_**

And another from Chie **_“C’mon Souji-kun, we all know that you have some kind of Hero Complex but-!”_**

“They CAN’T be defeated. They will not stay defeated forever.” _My God, that sounded so cliché._

  ** _“Where are you anyway, sempai? If you want some asses kicked then you need some backup.”_** He heard one of his ‘converts’, Kanji speak. If there’s anybody he intentionally converted, it’s him. He just wanted some friends to motivate him to go to school, is all.

**_“I’ll go wherever you go, Sensei!”_ **

He briefly considered telling them before shaking his head “Nope, this is MY assignment. I practically asked for this even though it’s not what I expected it to be. Go stay there in Inaba and don’t worry about this one besides I have backup here too so I’ll be alright.”

**_“WHAT!? But partner-!”_ **

“Just—trust me on this one. If I ever need you, I’ll tell.” _No need dragging them in ‘ere_ “I’ll call you whenever I can. Uncle, don’t worry about mom and dad. I’ll tell them myself.”

**_“Your parents? What do you mean, just how long are you planning to stay there?”_ **

“A year” he mumbled, barely audible and moved the phone away by instinct

**_“A YEAR?!”_** they shrieked

**_“A year?! We wouldn’t be able to BEAR to be separated with you, Sensei! What would you tell Nana-chan?!”_ **

“I’ll call Nanako EVERYDAY. I’ll answer your calls whenever I can and visit whenever I get lucky.”

**_“Tch! Shit, sempai at least tell us when you do somethin’ like this.”_ **

“It was instantaneous. Believe me; I was just as surprised as you.”

**_“This is really mean of you, Souji-kun.”_ **

**_“Yeah! You’ll have to treat us all to steak when you get back as punishment! Not just us! A lot of students from school have been looking for you too. Like Kou, Daisuke, Ayane-chan, Yumi-san, Ebihara-san…”_ **

“Urk uh sorry. Yeah I’ll call them later.”

**_“Listen, Souji”_** his uncle started **_“I’ve heard about this Hero Complex of yours and personally, I still think it’s improper to do things like these with so much…um-passion and dedication as to move from place to place. You’re still young, don’t ‘overwork’ yourself and have fun from time to time, okay?”_**

“I understand, uncle.”

**_“Don’t think you can get rid of us that easily, Partner. We’ll make sure to call you every hour haha!”_ ** _I hope they’re joking_

“Please, I still have classes to attend.”

**_“No promises, sempai.”_ ** _I reeeaaally hope they’re joking_

**_“You’ve enrolled yourself, huh? Hmm that’s good at least.”_** His uncle said **_“We’ll call you later then.”_**

“Uncle?”

**_“Uh…yeah?”_ **

“Don’t even think of tracking me down.”

**_“Tch! You and your so called justice! After you graduate, I’m going to make you join in the damn police force and then we’ll see just how righteous you are! Haha!”_ **

“ _*Sigh*_ That sounds exciting, uncle... See ya”

He snapped the phone shut, pocketed it and grabbed some bills inside the bag. _Better go shopping while it’s still early._

Before he leaves however, he noticed his rather small television set.

He could still remember the first time he slipped inside his own when he was 8 and met a rather enthusiastic bear who he saved from Shadows. Ever since then, he kept his own wide screen TV as his entry to the other side. He spent less time training with the Velvet residents but gained more experience in fighting Shadows in the TV World for years.

He misses human company though. He has been spending most of his time with the Velvet residents and Teddie serves as really good company whenever they fight Shadows but none of them are human. Not like he has anything against them really; he even doubts his own humanity since he spends much more time in the ‘other side’ than in the ‘human side’. But with this mission in Iwatodai where there are other humans like him who fight Shadows, then things might just get interesting. It’s just that he is an actual human by birth and sometimes he needs the companionship of those in his natural element to sate his ‘humanity’… _Gah this is so hard to explain. Why am I even talking to myself?_

After shopping for clothes, underwear and other necessities, he caught a glimpse of the all too familiar Moonlight Bridge and inwardly cringes. The Dark Hour only happens in Iwatodai and after 10 years of not coming back, he was almost surprised when the clock stroke 12 and the world turned green again. Speaking of which…

_I wonder what happened to that robot-neesan..._


	7. Saving Yukiko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saving Yukiko and how the TVs work(in THIS story anyway).

_*munch* *munch*_ “Mmrly goo’, Oui!”

“Don’t talk while your mouth’s full.”

“Mm _*gulp*_ real men don’t care about how they eat _*burp*_ ”

“Ugh that’s disgusting, Akihiko!”

While they’re eating, the talented chef chuckled at the two seniors, marvelling at how different Mitsuru acts whenever she’s in the dorm. He wonders if it’s because of her position as the Student Council President that’s making others intimidated by her or if she’s just too busy to socialize. _I could see how they could misunderstand but she really should socialize more._

He hears the commercial from the TV end and caught the name of his hometown making him put down his bowl. **_“At around 7:00 AM, local high school student Saki Konishi was found dead in Inaba’s residential area.”_**

His eyes widened at the name making him completely forget his meal. _Konishi?! Isn’t that Yosuke’s- **“Since the body was positioned similarly to the last victim, and since Ms. Konishi was the one who discovered that body…Police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death of Mayumi Yamano. The coroner’s report has established Ms. Konishi’s time of death at around 1:00 AM last night. The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area.”**_

“Konishi-san died…? Murder case—What?!”

“Oh my, you knew her? I’m sorry for your loss.” The chairman said comfortingly

“Ah it-it’s alright, what’s this about a serial murder?”

“You mean you didn’t know?” Yukari asked “There has been a murder in Inaba: Mayumi Yamano. Y’know, the announcer? They said her body was found hanging upside down in an antenna. Creepy”

“When did it happen?”

“Mm about three days ago?”

“Really? Damn. My hometown and I didn’t know…”

Akihiko intervened “Hey, a lot’s happened and you just moved here. You can’t blame yourself for not knowing” He looked at him consolingly “So uh- Were you two close? You look pretty shocked.”

“Nah, it’s just that this good buddy of mine always talks about her; head over heels that one. Besides that, she’s my sempai so I just see her in the school hallways… oh and she’s also a co-worker in my part-time job so we get to talk sometimes but we weren’t very close.” _I’ll have to call Yosuke._

**_“…Amagi inn, located upstream of Samegawa River is the town’s oldest historical landmark. Vacationers are known to travel suprising distances in order to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs. After the incident with Ms. Yamano, the manager has stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shoes. In other words, she’s a manager who’s still in high school! Now that has a nice ring to it… Let’s see if we can interview her. Excuse me!”_ **

His head whirled quickly upon hearing his friend’s name. He stood up in front of the TV and saw her in a kimono. _Yukiko!_

As he listened to the interview, the two female juniors followed him and watched the interview unfold. After the interview, Souji was torn to feeling homesick and looking for that reporter and tear him a new one.

“ _*whistle*_ She’s pretty. Is she your friend?” Minako smirked slyly at him, taking note of Souji’s smiling face.

“One of the best, yeah.” Souji replied

“Ohh reeeaallllyyy~?”

He rolled his eyes, barely containing a smile “That’s it though; just a friend, nothing more.”

“Aww you were friendzoned…”

“Huh? No, I wasn’t! We’re just really good friends!”

“Psshhh like _that_ could happen.” Now it’s Yukari’s turn to roll her eyes “Everybody knows there’s no such thing as a friendship between a guy and a girl.”

Mitsuru, upon hearing the statement raised an eyebrow “What do you mean?”

Minako giggled “What she meant to say is that their so called ‘friendship’ always leads to something more!” Her eyes widened, seeming to realize something and proceeded to whisper to Yukari who smiled and nodded in agreement “…Like you and Akihiko-sempai!”

Akihiko halted his eating “What?”

“They’re saying that a friendship between opposite sexes, like ours, always leads to something more.”

“Something more?” to which the two girls replied with more giggles, Souji with a curious but expectant expression and Mitsuru with a shrug “What? Like Master and slave? Sorry but I’m not planning on working in your mansion, Mitsuru.”

The two stopped giggling and stared at the two seniors in horror, speculating what kind of social lives they’re living for not even thinking about their love lives. _I knew he’s going to say something like that._ Souji, feeling his curiosity sated, left the jaw slackened girls and proceeded to finish his dinner.

* * *

 

The first thing he noticed was blue, velvet seats and a light hum of machine

_W-Where am I?_

“Welcome to the Velvet Room”

He turned at the recognition of the voice finding Igor and Margaret “Marge, Igor?  What happened- and what’s with the limo?” –was what he wanted to say but he didn’t. He can’t. He was surprised but he can’t act surprised; his body won’t allow it.

“Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the real world. I have summoned you within your dreams.” Igor said “Do you remember how you found us 10 years ago? For several years, we have served you as our guest, providing services and guidance in order to better prepare you for your Journey. We did not, however expected that you would be participating in not only one, but TWO very important Journeys. It seems Master Philemon has been expecting many great things from you; No wonder he appeared himself to you so many years out of schedule.” The man chuckled as he pulled out a deck of tarot cards like many times before “Now let’s take a look into your future, shall we?”

He placed the deck in the middle of the table and moments later, was engulfed by a bright light. The man moved his hand in a circular motion making specific cards separate from the deck and in to the round table “I’m sure you do but I still have to ask: Do you believe in fortune telling? Each reading is done with the same cards yet the result is always different. And like I taught you before, life itself follows the same principles.”

He flipped a card revealing the Tower in the upright position. Igor looked at him with expectant eyes just like in those short lessons they had when he was a boy. He spoke, still hesitant due to his experience a while ago. “A terrible catastrophe is imminent in the immediate future.”

Igor’s smile widened in approval as he flipped another revealing it to be the Moon in the upright position. “Hesitation and Mystery. A great mystery will be imposed upon me.”

Igor nodded, satisfied that all those lessons did not go to waste. Marge smiled as her Master continued “You have become quite proficient in your tarot reading. And with your skills in combat, perhaps you will make a decent Velvet assistant in the future. hoho”

That last statement took him by surprise so much he woke up from his sleep, still hearing the amused chuckle of Igor in the back of his head. He recalled a memory from when he was 7. There was a time when he asked Igor how he made his assistants and shuddered.

_“I take dead children’s souls and fuse them into pretty pretty mannequins.”_

He spent the next two day mulling about what Igor said, making him a perfect target of questions for his teachers’ recitations. He answered all of them correctly though, making some of the females swoon and the male population grind their teeth. A particular male classmate though by the name of Junpei Iori was friendly enough to the new transfer student when he was introduced by Minako and Yukari. However upon them mentioning that he lives on the same roof as the two ‘babes’, the animosity around him tripled making him decline the offer of hanging out and scurried back to the dorm.

“Seta? Perfect timing.” he was greeted by Mitsuru standing in the entryway with two other unfamiliar people both dressed in blue and a large box. “You have a delivery over here, from Inaba.”

He rushed excitedly to the entrance and spotted silver blonde hairs sticking out under the caps of the delivery people. The woman handed him a clipboard with a paper and gestured to the bottom “Please sign here.” She detached a piece from the said paper, handed it to him and smiled mischievously “And please take this, it’s for the delivery fee.”

Souji stared at the ‘delivery fee’ which consisted of bathing suits, summer, casual and winter outfits with specific measurements for both men and women. He looked up at the two unusually attractive blonde delivery people who smiled at him innocently. “…Isn’t this a little expensive for a delivery fee?”

The dashing man answered “Our fees depend on the assets delivered!” He winked “We went through quite a lot of trouble acquiring your little package over here. I must say, your uncle is fiery with a gun.”

The girl giggled “He also runs rather quickly for his age.”

“Your uncle has a gun? And why would he run after delivery people?” A curious Mitsuru asked behind his back making Souji jump in surprise. _I thought she left just now!_

Quickly thinking up a reason, he blurted out “He’s mentally disabled.”

He forced a neutral face as the siblings shook with barely contained laughter. Elizabeth’s on the verge of tears while Theo was already turning purple when Mitsuru nodded understandingly and left after patting Souji in the back. The three stared at her retreating form and when gone, the two rushed outside the dorm and let loose. _I’m going to kill these people_

“My goodness, Master Souji, that was very mean of you!” Theo said with a snort as his sister started to quiet down. After the little fuss, they dusted and composed themselves “We’ll be going now, Master.”

They bowed and disappeared in a blink of an eye. Souji returned inside and saw that the box was gone and proceeded to walk up the stairs when he noticed a familiar flash of blue in one of the couches. He blinked in surprise as he saw a sleeping Minato. Walking quietly to the other boy, he watched the rhythmic movement of the sleeping teen’s chest. He stared as he contemplated on waking him or not but decided against it a few minutes later. _I’ll explain the next time he’s awake._

“Souji” He stiffened at the call of his name and hesitantly turned to see Minato’s blank expression and unusually bright silver eyes, their color making him remember fond memories spent with the boy.

He nervously shuffled, not knowing what to say or do but settled on putting his hands in his pockets, trying to dry his sweaty palms. “Hey”

“Minako told me everything.” Minato looked expectantly at him as if waiting for a reply but continued when none came. “I can’t remember what happened that midnight either so—I’ll wait until it comes back to me.”

Souji didn’t know if he should be surprised or not. It was very like his friend to be so collected and yet he has been expecting a riot like Minako’s if not worse.

“I know you, Souji and I trust that you won’t do anything without reason.” He explained and then adopted a more serious face as he turned his gaze back to him “I know that you must have good intentions but if possible, please don’t hurt Minako like that again.”

Despite the gravity directed to him, he inwardly smiled; remembering similar words spoken by Minako and marvelling at how much the twins look out for the other even when they’re not together. He mulled over Minato’s words, thinking how to proceed “I can’t promise you anything but I’ll do what I can.”

After a moment of eye contact, he nodded, satisfied. “You do that” Minato’s eyes slipped close as he returned to his sleep. Souji was already in the stair’s descent when he heard Minato’s barely audible words.

“Welcome back, man.”

* * *

 

The moment he opened his room, he noticed how his small television set was replaced by a wide flat screen TV. _Those idiots. Using their magic tricks in front of a camera. Oh well, I’ll delete the footages later. Speaking of which…_

He took an eraser from his case, tore a small piece and flicked it towards the camera with a speed much like a bullet, crushing the said camera to pieces. _There we go_

He turned to the TV and touched the screen. He stared at it as his hand continued to submerge “Hey Ted”

Suddenly, colors of red and white assaulted his vision. He stumbled backwards and landed on the floor. Expecting the loud voice, he quickly grabbed hold of the bear’s mouth “SENMMPPPHHHHHH~-!!”

“SSHH! Keep quiet, Ted. We’re not the only ones in here!” He warned

“B-but Sensei—!” The bear started to shed alligator tears “We’ve been separated for so long and I’ve missed you so Beary much!” Teddie began to rub his tear stained face on his polo, much to his dismay.

“We were separated for 8 days! We’ve gone on longer so get off me.”

Teddie obeyed while rubbing his puffy eyes “Th-That’s not the only reason though. Things have been going unBearable in the other side while you were gone!”

That caught his attention “Huh? Waddya mean?”

“New realities have been sprouting and the Shadows are going chaotic. Someone has been throwing people inside TVs, Sensei! I was so scared; I had to sleep in Yosuke’s for days…”

“Wha- But I thought I’m the only one human who can enter that world! This has never happened before…”

“I know that’s why I came here! We need to investigate immediately, Sensei.”

“Wait, you said ‘realities’. You’re saying that there’s more than one person he got thrown in the TV?”

“I don’t know how many but there’s a lot of funny new smells! There’s even that one smell that smells very much like Yuki-chan!”

_Wha- Yuki-chan? You mean—!_ He hastily grabbed his phone and scrolled in his contact list, almost crushing the button when he spotted the name he’s been looking for. With shaking hands, he positioned it to his ears, silently praying for an answer only to get a voice mail. He stopped himself from throwing the phone to the floor, searching for another contact and tapped her best friend’s name: Chie Satonaka.

He heard someone pick up from the other side “CHIE! Where’s Yukiko?!”

“Souji?! I- how did you-?”

“Ted told me. Where is she? Is she with you?!”

“No, Souji-kun. I-I wish I knew that too. We’ve been looking for her since yesterday night…”

_Damn_ “When’s the last time you saw her?”

“Just the other day. She couldn’t attend school yesterday because she needed to help in the inn but then when I called to them last night asking for her, she wasn’t there! They thought she was with me the whole time…”

He was about to hang up when he hears Chie continue “Oh and um Souji-kun, I dunno but you might want to hear this…”

He continued to listen “…there’s been a rumor spreading around here called the Midnight Channel. They say that whenever it’s night, foggy and the clock strikes 12, you will be able to see your soul mate once you stare into your TV long enough.”

Souji grumbled irritatingly “Where are you going with this?!”

“… I saw Yukiko in it last night.”

“Well, what the fuck am I supposed to say? Congratulations?!” _I don’t have time for this nonsense_

“Souji-kun, please hear me out! It wasn’t only me who saw it, Yosuke did too! We’ve done this before and the first one we saw was Konishi-sempai and then the next day she turned out to be—!”

“—dead.” Souji felt a shiver at the realization “This Midnight Channel… when did it start?”

“I don’t know exactly when or where but just before Mayumi Yamano died, I think I heard a guy in class shout that she’s his soul mate or something. We think she appeared in there too but if so then Yukiko must be—!”

“DON’T SAY IT. Chie, you can’t just assume things without concrete evidence.”

“I-I know. I’m just really worried. She’s my best friend for goodness sake! I don’t know what I’m going to do if something were to happen to her.”

“Telling you not to be worried will be useless but please just get a hold of yourself. The most we can do now is find her and hope for the best.”

“Yeah, you’re right, thanks. Oh and Souji-kun? You already know about what happened to Konishi-sempai, right? Yosuke… He needs someone to talk to.” _Oh shit. I completely forgot about that._

“Yes, I understand. You guys be careful over there, okay?”

“Yeah, you too.” He heard the other line end and pocketed the phone. He stood at the front of his TV with Teddie beside him. “You heard the whole conversation, right?”

“We need to save, Yuki-chan!” The bear exclaimed before diving into the TV followed by Souji.

* * *

 

_This is a nightmare. It’s just a dream and I’ll wake up once my alarm goes off_

She recalled something Chie told her one time. “ _Sometimes, your mind likes to play games with you and it creates some sort of illusion. If that happens, you need to close your eyes for about 30 seconds and when you open them again, everything will be back to normal!”_

For the hundredth time, she closed her eyes again and started to count under her breath.

“Oh my God! You’re doing it…AGAIN!? Pfft How many times have you done that? A hundred?… a thousand?! Give me a break, you think you can still believe in that useless bitch? You think her little mumbo jumbo will make me go away? Well you’re wrong!”

She’s been holding herself back ever since she arrived at the place but the name the monster called her best friend caused her to finally snap. “SHUT UP! Don’t you dare call her that with my face!”

“Oohh did I hit a nerve? What, you think you can threaten me now?” The girl with her face wearing a pink dress howled with laughter. “We can’t run from that fucking inn. There’s nobody in that town that could take me away. And the only one who could have has already left! I wish I could’ve joined him. Leave a small backwater town and an inn the family has been running for generations with next to no future… disgusting!”

Just then, a loud crash resounded in the room. She looked up to discover that the huge metal doors locking her in was now open, revealing—!

Ever since he transferred in Inaba a few years ago, people started to look up to the boy. Men respect him; women will kill for an afternoon or even a few minutes alone with the guy. Girls her age daydream on how a knight in shining armor would sweep them off their feet right after slaying a dragon. Girls in Yasogami High are no exception; the only difference is that whenever they do, their knight will always have his face on them. She wouldn’t admit it but even her, the most popular girl in school daydreamed about him a couple of times in the past. That’s why when she found herself trapped on top of a castle with a yellow eyed villain that looks like her… she couldn’t help but wish for her knight in shining armor to come. She never expected that it would come true though.

“Souji?!” She was now convinced that she is dreaming. There is no way he would abandon his job to return to Inaba and save her. A small voice in her head believes it though. Doing something heroic like that is just what a prince charming would do. It’s just what Souji would do. Maybe this nightmare can still turn into a nice dream after a—

“—And the gorgeous ball of cuteness, TEEEEDDDDIIIEEE~!!!!!” _I’m going to gut that bear when I wake up._

“Yukiko!” he gasped but managed a relieved smile, his silver hairs sticking out as though he just came out of a heavy work out and still look gorgeous after. “I’m so glad you’re alright…”

She was about to reply when she was cut off by her other self

“Oh my, speak of the devil! There he is, now~!” The woman who introduced herself as Yukiko’s Shadow spoke. “You see? I told you he’s better than Chie. Chie can’t do anything to take you away! Souji-kun on the other hand has the balls to do whatever he wants-he’s from the city after all! When it comes down to it, Chie’s just not good enough!”

Feeling ashamed at the true but badly delivered words that she knew hit home, she begged “No! Please, please stop…”

“Oh? You’re saying ‘please’ now? Ahahahahaha that’s really funny, you’re like an obedient bitch who does nothing but follow her master’s orders.” The shadow adopted a mocking tone “’You’ll have to inherit this inn someday’, ‘One day, it’s going to be your turn to run it’ Psshhhh I don’t want these things chaining me down! I’m sick of it, to hell with it all!”

“Th-That’s not true”

“I just wanna go far away… Someone please take me away, I can’t leave here on my own… I’m completely useless”

“Stop…Please stop…”

“I have no hope to stay and no courage to leave. So I sit in my ass, hoping that someday my Prince will come. I don’t care where, anywhere’s fine. I don’t give a damn! Historical Tradition? Pride of the Town? What a load of bullshit! That’s how I really feel, isn’t that right…me?”

“No…” Yukiko is trembling now “You’re not me!”

A dark miasma formed around the Shadow as she laughed and a slowly formed a black ball of darkness. They felt the air shift and somehow, all the malicious forces that seemed to dominate the area pulled themselves into the ball making it swell. Sounds of chains and metal echoed in the ceilings and they staggered as one of the chandeliers dropped, a massive bird cage on its ends. The ball was trapped inside the cage and later ruptured into a bird, hundreds of its crimson feathers covering half the room.

Souji, who was taken aback by the sudden engulfment of feathers was nearly smoldered by the scorching fires which seemed to appear out of nowhere. He dodged the unceasing onslaught, barely noticing the comically running bear in the back ground with its ‘tail’ on fire. _Fire? Let’s see how you handle Ice!_

He felt an agitated presence in his head, yearning for release. “Isis!”

He crushed the card, summoning the bird-like goddess and its golden feathers, a contrast in the Shadow boss’s red. “Bufudyne!” At his orders, the Persona discharged a light blue orb from her fingertips which quickly accelerated to the caged bird. It let out a deafening cry as she summoned a Shadow helper taking a form of a small metallic toy prince. Despite the other Shadow’s intrusion, he continued assaulting the bird but was interrupted when a light glow formed from the Prince’s head, healing the bird. _Tch! You’ll regret doing that…_

As though detecting his switch of targets, Teddie shouted at his back “Sensei! Zap ‘im!”

He switched to High Pixie, who fluttered as she called down a Mazio from the seemingly endless ceiling. Upon striking The Charming Prince’s weakness, it fell, much to the bird’s apprehension. While it was distracted, Souji called out another lightning strike making the cage detach from the chandelier and the bird to plummet.

Souji ran towards Yukiko, worried for his friend’s safety and called out a Diarahan, just in case she’s injured. “You okay?” The girl in question rose from the floor with his support and slowly trudged to the Shadow who resumed its original form. With great hesitance she started to speak.

“ _*pant*_ Yeah, I get it. ‘I want to run away’, ‘I want someone to save me’… that’s all true. I’ve always felt chained down by our family inn, it’s like everything’s decided for me from how I live to where I die. I hate it.” She reluctantly admitted, still a little disquiet about having her friend hear her dark thoughts. “I’ve always been relying on others… our maids, Souji-kun, most especially Chie. Despite the name callings, she really is my best friend. They may help me in a lot of things but in the end, no one can break my chains but me. I’m too scared to do it though and if I did, what will others- my mother think of me? So yes, that’s how I think and that’s why you’re me.”

The yellow-eyed Yukiko nodded, the barest hints of a smile grace her lips and a gentle glimmer in her eyes are now present unlike before. She started to shimmer and Yukiko suddenly felt light headed upon hearing a voice in the back of her head and seeing a creature in shades of red and pink replace the Shadow from before.

Souji felt his mind whirl at the turn of events. For years, only he and Teddie roam the Shadow infested world, but now in front of him, is another human Persona-user just like him. What’s more is that she is one of Souji’s dearest friends. He recalled the internal talks he had days before about seeking companionship of those like him. He’s not sure whether to be happy for having his wishes answered or guilty because his friend can now partake in his dangerous activities. He caught her by the arm as she collapsed and observed her more closely, checking for injuries but found none. However, he can see the after effects of being in the TV World for too long. In his first entry, he doubted he could have lasted for six hours before finding Teddie. He could not imagine a normal person last this long.

“Let’s get you home.”

* * *

 

After the trudging the treacherous stairs and outside the castle, they headed to the Junes TV drop off which Teddie tends to use every meet up. He offered carrying her all the way but she insisted in walking. He let go of her shoulders lending her entirely to Teddie.

“Take care of her will you, Ted?”

“No problemo! Are you sure you don’t want me escorting you back to your TV? I mean, I know that I’ve already set up an exit there that you could use whenever but-”

“It’s alright, I can handle a few Shadows.” He turned his attention to the still weak Yukiko “I’m pretty sure you already know this but please don’t spread around what you saw in here.”

“Q-questions…”

“We’ll answer you and in turn, you’ll have to answer ours too but before all that, please rest first. We’ll talk once you’ve recovered.” He nodded to Ted just before they pushed themselves into one of the screens of the stacked up television sets. He turned and strolled, heading to his own exit point, engulfing himself with the thick yellow fog of the Shadow world. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For me, the TV world is a very jumbled place. Therefore, Souji’s TV(in Iwatodai) and Junes’ TV(in Inaba) may be shorter in distance in the TV world than in the outside world. I hope this clears any confusions(if you have any) in regards to how they travel in the TV world, Inaba and Iwatodai.


	8. Tartarus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toothpaste, incest(?) and a scary phone call (not as scary as shooting yourself in the head though).

**_“And then dad got so mad, he pulled out his gun and started shooting at the car. I don’t understand. They seem like nice people so why would they steal your TV? I mean they can even afford such a shiny and long car. Dad said it’s way too expensive for a backwater town like ours so it would surely stand out but he had no witnesses.”_ **

“Ah, that’s just the way things are Nanako. There are bad people everywhere so you shouldn’t open the door to strangers, alright?”

**_“Yup! Daddy told me the same thing and I always do what daddy tells me!”_ **

“And if they’re wearing blue and have white hair, call me or your dad and hide because those are especially scary people, okay?”

**_“Um…okay!”_ **

“Good girl” Souji smiled, relishing his conversation with his dearest cousin “Alright Nanako, it’s already past your bedtime.”

**_“B-but Big bro!”_ **

“Your father will reprimand me if I make you stay up any more late as it is. Besides, you have a big day tomorrow. Aren’t you excited about learning fractions? And then some day you’ll even learn about trigonometry which is just as exciting!”

**_“Tri-trigo-what?”_ **

“I’ll teach you the next time I visit. Goodnight, Nanako”

**_“Goodnight, big bro. I love you!”_ **

His internal fan boy squealed in joy, a big contrast from the depressing chat he had with Yosuke and a life changing discussion with Yukiko that made him wish they talk in person with the number of times he had to explain everything. He felt bad for Ted in Inaba who will without a doubt face her full wrath for keeping secrets to close friends. Hopefully, the fact that they saved her will lighten the punishment.

“I love you too” He pocketed his phone and noticed a dark brown reddish hair from the corner of his eye. He looked up to see a jaw slackened Minako who appeared to have just arrived in the lounge. Her face was a mixture of at least 6 different and contrasting emotions. She seemed to be having great difficulty in forming words in her mouth as she pointed a shaky finger to a confused Souji.

“Y-you-”

“What?”

“YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND~!!!!!!!!!” she suddenly squealed while jumping excitedly around with her hands in the air.

He blankly stared at her, not registering the words. Minako was already rushing in the stairs, ready to spread the Good News when he jerked from his seat upon the realization. “WAIT NO! YOU'VE GOT IT ALL WRONG!”

A wacky chase scene happened with Souji split into being very panicked and very impressed with Minako’s speed. _Damn, they’re right! I should’ve joined a sports club!_ Minako has already reached the door to the Command Room when he stepped into the 4th floor.

“SOU-CHAN HAS A GIRLFRIEND!” _Nooooooo!!!!_

He found himself being stared at by the male occupants the moment he stepped in the room. Minato and Akihiko were about to say their congratulations when they were interrupted by the very enthusiastic and newest member of the group.

“WHOA! Seriously?! I was expecting that from Akihiko-sempai but Souji? Damn!” Junpei exclaimed as he walked towards Akihiko and Minato and draped his arms around them. “Oh well! It’s just us three, now!”

“I need to get stronger. I don’t have time for girls.”

“Why would I need a girlfriend when I have Minako?”

Junpei stared at the two “Akihiko-sempai, why would you work out so much if not to catch babes?” He turned to the other boy “And Minato, I know that you love and care for your sister and all but damn, that’s just creepy.”

Junpei switched his attention to Souji and made a perverted smile “So uh is she cute? You got a picture somewhere?”

Souji felt one of his veins throb and answered “That was my little cousin!”

He heard a gasp from the siblings, Junpei and a very wide-eyed Akihiko who voiced their trepidation. “You have a relationship with your cousin….?”

“Wow, common interests. No wonder you and Minato seems so close.”

“Um… that’s alright, Sou-chan! I mean, royalties do it so why can’t we?”

“It’s amazing how one learns new things everyday…” Minato muttered

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT. She’s 6, for goodness sakes!”

They gasped a second time.

“Incest AND pedophilia? Hardcore.”

“It’s okay, Souji. You’re still my best friend.” _I think I’m going to cry..._

The doors opened again revealing Yukari, Mitsuru and Ikutsuki all holding silver cases “Akihiko have you seen- oh there you are.”

“…”

“Did we miss something?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.” Souji insisted

“Oh um… well, I give you my deepest sympathies. Love lives aside, I’m here for the four of you or more specifically, Arisato-kun and Iori.” The male Arisato blinked in surprise with Junpei “What’s up?”

“Since Arisato has just woken up and Iori just joined, I believe you want an explanation and in turn, we want an answer…from all four of you.” Putting aside their recent jibes they became attentive, Souji and the twins sitting in the three person couch with Minako in between the two men while Junpei took one of the side. The new arrivals took up the remaining seats, putting the silver cases on the table. Ikutsuki commenced the talk, looking at Minato.

“So, I’m guessing Minako already gave you an explanation?” Minato nodded in confirmation “Alright but I’ll still have to explain regardless for Junpei over here.”

 “So uh I guess we’re talking about what happened before, huh?” Junpei asked, remembering the events of last night and how he was picked up by Akihiko.

“Precisely…” And so the chairman explained once again, answering all questions along the way “Do you have any more questions?”

Minato shook his head in refusal “What all comes down to it, you want us to join you in fighting these Shadows and eradicate the Dark Hour, right?”

Ikutsuki nodded to the two girls and simultaneously opened the four cases revealing a guns and red arm bands. Mitsuru resolutely focused on the four juniors and implored. “Please, only people like you—us can fight them.”

Minako looked at her impassive brother, waiting for a response, Junpei ogled the weapons whispering ‘oohh’s and ‘aahh’s as if it was his first time seeing one while Souji silently scrutinized the gun with mild interest. _Judging by what happened to Yukiko, only those who have accepted their Shadow selves can control their Personas. I’m an exception since I’ve always been aware and accepted my faults or at least that’s what Ted said. For such an instrument to conjure a Persona without having to face the ‘other self’… I wonder if it has any special qualities. Technology of the Kirijo Group perhaps? Or does it simply aid the user to experience a sense of premonition in battle?_

He was so out of it that he barely registered Junpei’s ecstatic ’Of Course!’, Minato’s ‘yes’ followed by a determined ‘okay’ from the twin sister. He was put out of his stupor by Minako’s small nudge and realized he hasn’t said anything yet. “Uh sure…no problem.”

“Thank you” Mitsuru sighed in relief while Akihiko nodded in approval

“ _*Phew*_ For a moment there, I thought you wouldn’t accept.” Yukari smiled at them, delighted to have members of the same year. “Welcome aboard!”

“It’s decided then” The chairman started “For such a long time, we’ve only had Mitsuru and Akihiko but now that our members have jumped to 7, I think we can commence Operation Tartarus.”

“Tartarus? Sounds like toothpaste…”

Souji smiled at Junpei, amused “Sounds more like a video game dungeon we need to clear out. If I recall correctly, it’s the version of Hell in Greek Mythos.”

“Oh my, you are familiar with Greek Mythology too? And for you to call it a dungeon, you are more correct than you imagine.” Ikutsuki said

Mitsuru began to explain “Since there has only been very few of us, all we’ve been dealing with are runaway Shadows outside Tartaus, their nest.”

“Mitsuru and I have only gone there once to sneak a peek but we don’t have enough fire power.” Akihiko grinned eagerly “But now that you’re here, we have a chance in exploring it!”

“As an introduction, I suggest that you go there this midnight. You wouldn’t have to clear out numerous of floors so suddenly, of course; just enough to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with.” Ikutsuki proposed which the teens readily agreed to and turned to the seniors. “Why don’t you show them our weaponries while there are still a few hours left? It would be good for them to familiarize everything before going into battle.”

“Yes, chairman”, “Sure thing”

“Yukari, I think we have some spare armor in the storage room. Would you mind fetching them please?”

“Okay”

“Now that that’s settled…” The chairman stood and walked to his office at the corner and turned slightly to the students “I know that there are a lot of you now but please remain careful. We can’t be taken by surprise a second time.”

Mutters of assent were heard in the room as they left to prepare.

* * *

 

 “School? Huh. No wonder you call it hell.” Junpei muttered as Minako stifled a giggle.

“Relax, it hasn’t turned up yet.” Akihiko pulled out his phone “Any second now…”

As if on cue, his phone died along with the almost unnoticeable noises of machines in the whole of Iwatodai. The world turned green and it was as though the moon is falling towards earth with the difference of its size, producing enough light to replace the synthetic lights of the whole city. A light rumble caught their attention. If they were to use a human as a metaphor for what happened to their school, they would say that it’s growing limbs. Each of the newly surfaced parts looked very distinct and unique, making the school turned tower a perfect image of buildings smudged together. While the siblings and Junpei watched in amazement as it continued to rise up, Souji felt a familiar prickle in the back of his neck and wondered just how many Shadows is the tower housing.  _It’s like Yukiko’s castle in the TV World but damn, that’s a lot of floors…_

Souji gripped wearily at his Kishido Blade and heard a woman’s voice behind him, just enough for only the two of them to hear “You can feel it too, can’t you?”

He turned and saw a curious Mitsuru “I can see it in your face.” To which Souji replied with a weary smile

“It feels weird like a prickle in the back of your neck. It’s not painful but I can tell that it’s bad.”

“We must have similar Personas.” she decided “Penthesilia, my Persona is battle oriented but can also act as a support type. That’s why I’ll be staying in the lobby with Akihiko while you fight.”

“Is that really wise? Minako, Yukari and Junpei will be fighting for the first time, after all.”

“They have you and Arisato. Besides, we’ll be starting with the lowest floors with the weakest Shadows. It’s nothing compared to that Magician boss last time.”

“Magician? You’re familiar with arcanas?”

Mitsuru’s eyes widened in surprise “Yes, it’s something the chairman spontaneously spouts regarding Personas. How about you? How come you know?” she asked suspiciously

“I uh… read—tarot cards!” _Me and my big mouth_

“Really? That’s quite interesting. Would you mind displaying your gift? What can you tell about the Magician Arcana then?” She challenged

“It’s associated with action, initiative, self-confidence, manipulation and power to harness one’s talents.” He replied with a by the book answer and continued as she remained unconvinced “Meanwhile, the Empress represents mothers, prosperity, creativity, sexuality, abundance, fertility and comfort. They are usually important female figures who are of authority, wise and motherly.”

She rolled her eyes, much to Souji’s surprise. _That was very loose of her._

 “Aright, you’ve satisfied me.” She muttered, as they walked to the school entrance with her bike at her side. The two of them tailed the back of the group “That doesn’t mean you’ve convinced me though… you are a very dangerous person, Souji Seta.”

“Penthesilia” She heard him mention her Persona’s name, just enough for her to hear “She accidentally killed her sister, Hippolyta and joined the Trojan War as penance for her actions.”

_Where is he going with this?_

He spoke with such a levelled voice that she felt goose bumps in her arms but he did not stop there “How about you, Kirijo-san? What are you atoning for?”

Her head whirled so fast, she was surprised it didn’t snap. “Y-you-”

He made a meaningful smile as he made his way to the others just before speaking in a hushed tone “We all have secrets to keep…”

She stared at his retreating form as he joined the merry chats of the rest of the group, acting as though nothing’s happened. _Definitely dangerous_

* * *

 

He could almost feel her glare burning the back of his head as they entered Tartarus. _I wonder if that was a good idea. I just wanted to see her worked up at least once since she’s always so composed but now that I think about it, I think I just made an unnecessary enemy for myself… Meh, no use dwelling on it now, at least now I can say for sure that I can trust her._

Being able to live with a scientist of the Kirijo Group for two years, he was able to read a few documents whenever his tired oba-san collapses in her futon and has eavesdropped in many phone calls about the infamous ‘Kirijo pig’ and a lapdog named… _-What was the lapdog’s name again? I think it was a complicated name of some sort, I couldn’t even say it the first time…_

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard almost perfectly synchronized hitches of breath coming from the twins at his side. He saw them looking at the same direction and immediately spotted the source of their astonishment. _I have my suspicions but this definitely confirms it._

As one, the twins walked to the blue door and paused in front of it. The others were too busy in assessing the place that they didn’t notice how the siblings absently wandered to the spot, unmoving. He made a mental note of avoiding to use the door whenever the twins are around and to stick to one Persona. _I think I can clear out some floors by myself but if I were steal the spot light; they might become over reliant and never grow. Besides, having the same unique power as the twins while at the same time being their childhood friend…_

He sneaked a peek at the Empress who is managing her radio-like devices. _–Someone might get overly suspicious. I’m sure her reaction would be even more priceless if she knew what I am but then again, I wouldn’t be able to watch her go all frustrated so where’s the fun in that?_

Turning away, he noticed Akihiko and the two other juniors fixated upon a mysterious green glowing device. He inwardly cringed at the last description remembering the last time he messed with glowing things. Advancing to take a closer look, he heard Yukari and Junpei argue over its purpose.

“Come on, Yuka-tan, it’s obviously some kind of weapon to kill Shadows… Oohh! What if it’s a laser like those in Phoenix Ranger Featherman R!”

“A laser? Where would the beam pass then? Everybody knows that unknown devices shouldn’t be touched especially if they’re glowi-”

“ _*Touch*_ Huh? It’s not working! Laaammmee _”_ Junpei exclaimed, not noticing Yukari’s face palm and were interrupted by Akihiko, wrapping tapes around his fists despite the fact that he won’t be joining them.

“Don’t you two have anything better to do like-I dunno…train?”

“Don’t you have anything better to do THAN train, sempai?”

“Nope” _I don’t know what I was expecting_

They heard someone clap and turned to see Mitsuru, trying to catch their attention “They’re all set, everyone. Assemble!”

They did so, the siblings included, finished with their Velvet business. The seniors shared a look as though communicating something and nodded as Akihiko looked at the junior members.

“We’ll have to appoint one of you as leader.”

“Whoa! Seriously?”Junpei, upon hearing this, raised his hand excitedly “Ooh! Ooh! Me! Pick me!”

“Uh…” Akihiko inspected his other options and spotted Souji and Minato “One of you has to be in charge.”

Expecting it, Souji shook his head and turned to Minato “You do it. I’m good at following orders but I’m not the leader type.” To which Minato replied with a shrug “mm’kay”

“What?!” Junpei exclaimed “Why him? He doesn’t look like a leader!”

“He’s fought them before.” Yukari explained

“We’re also trained in combat.” Minako supplied

“Whoa! Really…?”

“That and…” Akihiko pulled out his Evoker and pointed it in his head “Can you really summon yours without hesitation?” The three replied in affirmation, tense despite their answers “Good. Oh and Souji?”

“Yes?” He tilted his head in wonder

“You decide if you want to summon yours with or without one. Apparently, summoning a Persona without an Evoker is possible but I haven’t really done it yet. It seemed as though you had no trouble summoning yours before so I’ll let you decide where you’re more comfortable with.”

“Okay, thanks” He replied, not noticing Junpei’s jaw slacken at his apparently unique skill. He turned to the rest of the members lead by Minato who muttered an audible “Let’s do this”

The team of five proceeded to climb the stairs and with Mitsuru’s help, spotted their first Shadow of the night. Mitsuru explained the mechanics of an ambush but Minato refused to land the first hit, he ordered someone else to do it. “Yukari, would you mind commencing the ambush? With your bow and arrow, we wouldn’t have to go near it and risk our element of surprise.”

“Roger” She pulled out an arrow and with a deep breath, released.

It hit, causing it to divide into two tar-like creatures which Mitsuru identified as Cowardly Mayas. Junpei advanced and slashed the creature causing it to let out a shuddering whine. The aggressive Shadow landed a hit making him back out and made way for a rushing Minato who thrust his one-handed sword into the enemy making it dissolve into a pile of dust. While the two dealt with one, the other fell because of a critical hit landed by Souji. Before it got up however, Minako stabbed the creature and made a victory pose for everyone to see. “Piece of cake!”

Followed by an ecstatic Yukari “Yeah! This might actually be pretty easy!”

15 minutes later

“I take it back. It’s not that easy.” Yukari huffed as Junpei finished the last of the Shadows with an Agi. “How come you can summon yours so well? Argh… this is making me frustrated.”

“It’s because of my oozing manliness, of course. Only manly people can summon their Personas so easily!” _Does that include Kirijo-sempai?_

“It’s alright Yukari-chan, I haven’t done it too.” Comforted by an angelic Minako who fights like a demon with her naginata “Don’t worry, we’ll summon ours in the next batch of Shadows we encounter!”

“You guys heard that, right? The next batch will mainly be handled by Yukari and my sister so everyone else switch to support roles.” Minato made an order to the men who nodded in affirmation

A few seconds after, they spotted the familiar tarry being with its back facing them and with nod of approval from Minato, Yukari shot. It transformed into two Magic Hands and a Cowardly Maya. The girls quickly grabbed their guns and pointed it in their chosen spots as Junpei quickly casted a Rakukaja and Minato a Tarunda while Souji cheered releasing a ‘wooohhh’ sound, not knowing any buffing spells with Helel.

_I can do this!_

After many failed attempts, Yukari finally managed to pull the trigger, which left a sharp ring in her ears but was too distracted to notice because of the form her Persona took. The most prominent thing about it is the bull’s head making her wonder why it lacks a body but later spotted a small chained blonde woman with dark skin riding the said head. A woman’s voice echoed at the back of her head introducing herself making her break into a wide smile as she called out the name for the first time, a spell already in her mind. “Io!”

The petite woman suddenly opened her eyes revealing pitch black and with a loud deafening scream, blew a mighty Garu spell that made the enemies slam to the tower walls and the Cowardly Maya to dissolve releasing a low whine. One of the Magic Hands was able to dodge it though, advancing to her with a sudden counter of Bufu followed by a Slash attack from one of its friends. Yukari stumbled back from the sudden chill, a red gash forming in her arm and shared a look with Minako who pulled the trigger in her temple.

A Persona very similar with her brother’s appeared but with a difference of color and length in hair. It introduced itself to Minako with the same name despite its difference in gender with her brother’s and grabbed the heart-shaped lyre at its back, waiting for orders. Minako stretched her right arm to one of the Magic Hands and shouted in an authoritative voice. “Bash!”

Her Orpheus gripped the edge of its lyre and smashed the Shadow making it crumble to dust. She was about to do so again when she was stopped by a voice from her back. “Minako, wait!”

“Nii-chan?” She turned to her brother, forgetting the now frightened Magic Hand “There’s only one left!”

Minato turned to his friend and gestured to the evoker stashed at Souji’s holder “You haven’t tried using it yet. Akihiko-sempai advised you to do so.” _Oh yeah. I forgot about that_

Souji grabbed his evoker and placed it on his temple. He felt a cold drop of sweat roll at the side of his neck at the contact of the icy barrel and hot skin. _Definitely not as easy as it looks._ He took a deep breath as he glowered down the cornered enemy, feeling the Persona he has been using stir. “God’s Hand!”

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

 

The rest of the fights were uneventful and the Shadows were weak enough that he used his Persona only two or three times just so he could compare the difference of summoning with and without an Evoker. Minako turned out to be a wildcard like her brother, much to the surprise of many except for the said brother and secretly, Souji. Yukari’s practices of shooting herself in the head paid off and Junpei succeeded in his second try. Because of their strength in numbers, they managed to defeat even a minor Shadow boss.

He continued to impress the teachers and students like how he did in Inaba and helped in clearing out Tartarus during midnights. Akihiko made his comeback a few days after their first expedition and started training like a maniac. Everything was going well but it was cut short when he received a certain phone call.

When Souji opened that door, he knew that keeping secrets would be one of the key things in his life. Entering a door nobody else can see, having multiple beings that are supposed to be mirrors of himself and fighting monsters with them in a world inside TVs… anybody would think he’s crazy. And so he kept everything to himself until a few weeks ago in a conversation with Yukiko. He knew that it has to happen eventually. That doesn’t mean it makes things any easier for him though.

“We know everything, Souji.”

His breath hitched at the familiar voice. The normally cheery voice is now devoid of any emotion, just like how it was the last time they talked. The matter at hand must be grave indeed if his friend called him by name. Judging by the chosen words his caller used, he could guess only one topic that could affect him in that way.

“Yosuke?”

 


	9. Trouble with the Priestess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirty magazines, glowing cards and the rain.

“Yosuke?”

**_“You thought you could hide it forever? Well, you’re wrong. Yukiko slipped and Chie and I know…”_ **

_Know what? What do you know? About Personas? Shadows? About Teddie and TVs? What I’ve been doing for the past ten years? What-_

**_“-that you’re in Iwatodai! Geez Souji… Why tell Yukiko and not us? Do you have a relationship or a crush on her or something? I mean I know that she’s attractive and all but Chie’s practically the first friend you made, Kanji and Ted looks up to you a lot and I’m your partner, man. I know that I just transferred in Inaba last year but you’ve been friends with the others for the past 5 years…that just ain’t fair…”_ **

“I…I’m sorry. I was talking to her this one time but I slipped and she found out. Really, it’s an honest mistake… I told her to keep it quiet after that.” He spoke with hesitance as he mentally made an epic back flip in relief. He placed down his reviewer and returned to the caller, stirring the topic of the conversation. “Oh and speaking of Yukiko, I heard that she went missing. What happened?”

 ** _“Ah, it wasn’t that serious. She went missing for like a whole day and the moment Chie found out, she went bat-shit crazy. She turned up around noon, practically being dragged by Ted. The police asked her questions but she said she couldn’t remember anything. It was weird, man. Chie and Kanji bought Ted enough topsicles to fill an ice cream truck and Yukiko’s mom said that we’re welcome to visit their inn whenever we want for free. I was about to jump in joy but Chie declined the offer.”_** Yosuke sighed in disappointment, completely forgetting why he called Souji in the first place. **_“We were really scared. She appeared in the Midnight Channel and—wait you don’t know what that is, don’t you?”_**

“I’ve heard about it from Chie. That and about how Konishi-sempai appeared in it too.” He replied, carefully mentioning the name for the sake of his friend “Hey-uh Yosuke, about her, do you…?”

 ** _“Nah, man. It’s alright I’ll move on. It’s pretty sad though. I mean they didn’t even know the cause of her death. The only lead we have is that she turned up in that Midnight Channel and that Yukiko seems to have lost her memories from when she went missing. Chie said that Yukiko’s lying and couldn’t meet her eyes when she’s interrogating her but… I dunno, man.”_** Yosuke grumbled bitterly **_“I want to know why- how she died.”_**

“Yosuke-”

 ** _“I’m alright, partner. We’ve had this talk before and whenever I recall how whiny I had been… It’s fine, man.”_** He insisted and let out a cheery laugh which ended up being painfully forced, making Souji cringe in the other line **_“Hey partner. How is it there in Iwatodai? Any hot chicks you could mention?”_**

Souji noticed the divert of topic but went along anyway “Well, I’m living in a co-ed dorm with three girls. There’s a nice brunette girl in the archery club, a rich, smart red head sempai who’s also the President of the Student Council—“

**_“President of the Student Council? Well, will you look at that! Does she know that you’re-?”_ **

“Please don’t say it. I get migraines whenever I remember those years- Oh and also, I met up with my childhood friends! They’re twins and there’s this guy that’s my best friend and he—”

They continued talking merrily, trying to forget the graveness of the earlier topics.

* * *

 

“God, I still remember your awakening. If it weren’t for you, my injury would’ve been much worse and I might still be recovering until now… I forgot to thank you, didn’t I? It has already been weeks and yet- Haha, silly me. Thanks, man.”

“S’olright. If you hadn’t been there at the time, I would’ve thought I was hallucinating and gone insane.” Souji replied as he sent a quick message to his phone.

That evening, Minato announced a break from Tartarus to give way for studying for the tests, much to the relief of many that is not Junpei. Because of that, the four juniors decided to hold a group study session in the lounge while the two seniors hang nearby in case they need some help. With the soft sound of the TV, they made small talk to relieve the tension. It was their first test, after all and preparation is a must especially for the three transfer students who are unfamiliar with the degree of the Gekkoukan examinations. One laid-back junior however is absent, much to the annoyance of the President. “Where is Iori? Does he not care for his studies?”

“In his room I think. Should I get him?” Minato offered

“Yes please. And tell him that if he does not join you, I will be forced to drag him out there myself.”

“Gotcha” He got up from his seat. Souji felt his phone vibrate and read another text but this time, from Teddie. He messaged back and found himself being scrutinized under Mitsuru’s suspicious watch. “Texting, Seta?  You don’t seem the type.”

“I intend to surprise, Kirijo-sempai.” He smirked eloquently “Besides, it’s the most convenient way I could get in touch with my friends in Inaba.”

“Did something happen? You looked quite grim while composing your message.”

“Nah, it’s just a friendly warning to this friend of mine. He always forgets to bring his umbre-“

A loud bang resounded upstairs followed by a pacing Minato. He wore his usual blank face but it was now riddled with sweat and…tears? His earlier healthy complexion has turned ashen and his posture worsened. For their cool and calm leader to undergo such a transformation, the group was surprised to say the least. “Arisato? What happened?”

Minato opened his mouth but before any word got out, a shrill cry behind him cut him off. They turned to see the missing junior, heaving but desperately forced out his words. “DON’T. Minato, my man… I-I’m begging ya. PLEASE!!!”

Junpei kneeled and made an act of reaching out to the blunnette who backed away so fast, one would’ve thought Junpei’s hand was life threatening. “DON’T. TOUCH ME.”

“I-I washed my hands!”

He glowered at the begging boy “Doors have locks for a reason. THAT was one of those reasons…” Minato lectured the other boy “If only you devoted yourself with your studies the same way you devote to your mags…”

Something clicked in Souji’s and Akihiko’s heads as the girls remained oblivious to the conversation. “Explain yourself, Arisato.” _Oh boy…_

“H-He’s reading…stuff.”

“Reading? You’re mad because you found him reading?”

“No! N-not reading per se… he’s um looking at the reading material and I found him… ‘utilizing its teachings?”

“DON’T!” Junpei’s crying now

“Spit it out, Arisato!”

“H-He’s…!” Minato looked helplessly to Souji and Akihiko, unsure on how to respond. The men shared a nod as they stood up and stretched.

“ _*Yawn*_ Wow! I’m sooooo tired… Aren’t you tired, Akihiko-sempai?!”

“Sure am, Souji!” They faced the female juniors, confused as ever. “Aren’t YOU guys tired? Come on Yukari, Minako… It’s time for bed!”

Akihiko pulled Yukari by the arm while Souji took hold of Minako. The girls went along as they witnessed the two courageous fighters of their team crave and show the first signs of self preservation. They left the lounge without looking back except for Souji who made an eye contact with an appreciative Minato for at least saving his sister’s innocence. The men sighed in relief as they reached the second floor and warned the girls to not ask of Junpei’s repulsive act to which the girls agreed to. The moment Souji reached his room, he felt a supreme amount of SP downstairs and cringed as he prayed with his hands together for his friend’s safety.

_Bufudyne…she’s strong._

A few hours later, he was woken by a loud alarm. It took him some moments but he eventually recognized it as the alarm for emergencies and quickly dressed up in his uniform. He grabbed his weapon at the side and rushed upstairs alongside the other juniors including Junpei. _Wow. He thawed better than I expected._

They were greeted by the grim faces of Mitsuru and Akihiko.

“We’ve detected a Shadow outside Tartarus.”

* * *

 

“Where is she?” Yukari grumbled as they sat on the front station’s steps, a few took sips of their drinks to wake them from their drowsiness. Junpei replied as casually as he can, trying not to shiver as he recalled her execution just a few hours before “Sh-She’ll be here soon.”

 “It’s the full moon tonight…But it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour.”

The group looked up at the full moon, sharing Yukari’s sentiment when suddenly they noticed a loud tremor of machinery coming towards them making them stand in astonishment as the said machine stopped before them while Akihiko continued adjusting his gloves, completely unfazed. The driver wore a white blouse with a red ribbon, black skirt and high-heeled boots. Only one person wore that outfit and they’ve seen the bike with her before but never actually seen her ride it. The moment the driver took off her helmet, long red strands let loose revealing pale skin and a face just as gorgeous as her figure. Junpei ogled while Souji couldn’t help but feel like he’s seen something similar in a motorcycle commercial before. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Motorcycles, Kirijo-sempai? You don’t seem the type.”

“I intend to surprise, Seta.” It was now her turn to smirk as she responded in kind “I don’t usually ride it in the Dark Hour, in fear of drawing unwanted attention but since this is an emergency, I’ve made an exception. Now, listen…”

“Tonight, I’ll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same. The Shadow is located inside a monorail, not far from the station. To get there, you’ll have to walk on the tracks”

“Really!? Isn’t that dangerous?” Minako voiced out their unease

“Don’t worry. No electronic equipment is operable during the Dark Hour, including the monorails.” Akihiko reminded

“But your bike…” Yukari pointed out to Mitsuru who smiled fondly at her ride.

“It’s special. Now, if circumstances change, I’ll notify you immediately. Arisato, have you chosen your preferred party members? Fighting in a cramped space with numerous people is not advisable.”

Minato turned to Souji “Can you stay behind? It’s not you’re like incompetent or anything…Don’t worry, I’ll make you join next time.” _Next time? How can he be so sure that there would be a next time?_

“No problem” He felt Mitsuru’s pointed glare at the back of his head and inwardly smirked at the chance of annoying her again.

“Fine” Mitsuru restrained a grumble “And? Who’s the other one?”

Minato tapped his chin in thought “…Junpei”.

Souji restrained a laugh as the said boy visually shrunk and Mitsuru pop a vein. He knows that he will have to be the mediator of the two and that it would be horrible but whenever he sees her reactions, he couldn’t help but be reminded of another Empress from when he was younger. _*Sigh* I miss Marge. I should visit her the next time I get the chance…_

A series of beeps from her device caught Mitsuru’s attention who straightened out “Let’s get started.”

The party shouted an assent as Minato walked to the said monorail, followed by his chosen members.

* * *

 

_Ugh this is so boring…_

Souji leaned on the stair rails while Junpei sat somewhere behind him, far away from Mitsuru but close enough to hear her talk. Ever since the others left, they were reduced to a tensed silence. It is mostly due to Mitsuru who still could not find in herself to forgive Junpei which made the other one cower. It’s been some time since the party entered the tracks and everything is going smooth so far which is good but with nothing to do and his friends acting that way, Souji was reduced to shuffling a deck of tarot cards that he produced in his blazer. It’s something he tends to do whenever he’s bored. The blue cards danced skilfully, something that could only be done with years of practice which caught Junpei’s attention. “You seem handy with those.”

“Yup” Finally finding something interesting, Junpei scooted closer, enthralled. Souji, seeing that he now has an audience to impress, picked up his pace. The blue cards flew and occasionally seemed to glow in Souji’s proficient and able hands that made Junpei stare like a child and Mitsuru watch silently at the side, equally impressed.

It was something the Residents taught him and while he is excellent, the siblings are exceptional. A fond smile made way to his lips as he recalled the first time the twins displayed their skills and how Margaret’s flourish made the twin’s act seem like child’s play. He was the most interesting thing that came to their lives, after all. And before him, there were only so much the Velvet Room can offer.

Souji found himself balancing and spinning acrobatically at the top of the stair’s slick railings as he continued to make the cards fly overhead. As a finishing act, he threw a particular card in the air and drew his Evoker and shot it in midair. The card was shattered and Helel materialized blowing fire from its mouth, briefly coloring the green skies with orange and blue radiance. This made Junpei break out in an eager applause while Mitsuru clapped primly. “Woooohhh! Yeah! You go, man!”, “Ce’st Magnifique!”

Souji bowed flamboyantly to his audiences. “Thank you! Thank you… ” He stepped down the railing and mentally thanked the siblings for the lessons that eased the tension between the two.

“Where have you learned that?”

“The children of the man who taught me how to read them are close friends of mine. They get real bored and when they became proficient enough in reading tarot cards, they decided to play with them.”

“Tarot cards?! Those were tarot cards?” Junpei asked, excited “Can you read them?”

Before Souji could utter a reply, Mitsuru’s device acted up, catching their attention. Mitsuru tapped the device in her ear “What’s wrong? What happened?!” The men waited with bated breath as Mitsuru exchanged words with the other side “It must be the Shadow… It knows you’re there. Be ready for anything! Proceed with extreme caution!”

“Sempai, did something happen? Do they need us or something?!” Junpei asked with expectation as he held his weapon, rearing to go but Mitsuru shook her head dismissal “They were trapped inside. It seems the Shadow is controlling the monorail but they don’t need your assistance as of now.”

She continued to talk with the other team, warning them about something while Souji and Junpei waited for orders in case something goes wrong. With Mitsuru’s words, they’ve deduced that the team is fighting now. While they waited, Souji had a sudden epiphany. _If the Shadow could control the monorail’s doors, does that mean it could also control the…?!_ “Kirijo-sempai! Tell them to proceed as quickly as they can!”

“What? What’s wrong Seta?!”

“The Shadow could control the monorail’s doors, right? Doesn’t that mean that it could also make it run? And if it does then-” Mitsuru’s eyes widened at the realization and quickly obliged.

“Team! Seta recommends that you pick up your pace. There is a big chance that the Shadow may make the monorail mobile.” The party did so. A few obliterated Shadows later the monorails were set into motion, just as they suspected. “If we can’t stop that thing, it’ll crash into another train! We’ve expected this so calm down and listen. I sense a strong presence in the front car and since that’s where the controls would most likely be, that must be what we’re after. You’ll have to defeat it to stop the train!”

With the team’s cooperation and the small boost in speed at the end, it did not take them long to reach the front car and where, as Mitsuru has predicted, the Priestess boss remain. The fight was long and hard fought. The men who were with Mitsuru were reduced to cheering enthusiastically and making all sorts of silly sounds that the party could barely hear from Mitsuru’s device. The owner of said devices restrained herself in telling the boys off believing that the party needs encouragement and some motivation. Minako was able to guess which lever to use at the end, much to everyone’s relief.

The team made their return to the front of the station where the three welcomed them with congratulations. Souji summoned his Persona and called out a Salvation for the injured and spent members. It’s a practice, those who were left are in charge of healing the team after each expedition. With that, their way back to the dorm was spent less with moans and complaints of pain and more with stories from Yukari and Minako about the fight in the monorail.

“It was SCARY I tell you!” Minako exclaimed “When Mitsuru-sempai told us that the monorail might move, we all didn’t hold back anymore. Onii-chan and Akihiko-sempai were especially scary…”

Akihiko shrugged while Minato looked offended at the description from his sister “I’m not scary! I was holding back the whole time, I didn’t even use my new Persona!”

“Oh please, you fought like a maniac, Minato-kun.” Yukari complimented “Those things are nothing against you.”

“That’s true” Akihiko agreed “You’ve been improving. That’s good.”

While Minato is being showered with compliments, Souji noticed Junpei, at the end of the line, unusually silent in contrast to his jolly personality. He slowed his pace and joined the other while they followed the rest at the back. He spoke in a hushed tone. “You okay, man?”

“Hm? Uh- Yeah, I’m good.” Having a friend who shares the same Arcana as Junpei’s, Souji could understand the boy slightly better than the others could. Yosuke once told him about how jealous he was to Souji, at how he is good at everything he does. People of their Arcanas tend to love excitement and being the ‘Hero’, after all. They’re the type who want to prove their self worth to others and gets easily worked up whenever their efforts are not recognized. Yosuke tends to have mood swings like these so Souji made an approach he uses with Yosuke: Simple and Encouraging “We’ll show them what we’ve got next time.”

Junpei visibly brightened at the words and nodded in agreement. Back to normal, the boy smirked as they heard Minako describe the Shadow Boss’ appearance. “Its legs were spread out and her boobies has the letters B and J on them! I wonder what those letters mean…?”

“Ooohh! Do you reeaaalllyy wanna know what that means, Minako-chan!?” Junpei made an entrance at the front with the others, leering causing Minato to stand in front of his sister.

“Get away from my sister, Satan!”

“Oh come on, Minato! She wants to know, right?” The two continued their banter while the female twin remained confused and an amused Souji watched.

“It’s true though.” Yukari began, catching the attention of the seniors “That Shadow’s appearance was a little too… repulsive. It’s like it’s making a show out of itself or something. I wonder why that is? It must have some kind of meaning or something…”

“One thing’s for sure, it’s a show I wouldn’t want to watch again.” Akihiko commented and turned to Mitsuru “So, what were you doing while we’re away?”

“We were having our own show.” Mitsuru smiled glancing suggestively at an oblivious teen who’s giving a lecture about arcanes.

“I wouldn’t mind watching it again though.”

* * *

 

“Akihiko-sempai’s having a check-up?”

“Yeah. He called me earlier and asked me to bring him something. Yup, he knows who to count on.” Junpei said with a self-satisfied grin while Minato remained with a blank face, Minako with a soft smile and Souji watched behind, a little detached but close enough to hear the conversation.

A girl in pink arrived at the other side of Minato’s desk. “He only asked you cuz you don’t have anything to do after school.”

“H-Hey I resent that!” Junpei said causing Yukari to giggle

“I’m just kidding! So, what’d he want you to bring?”

“The class roster for 2-E”

“What’s he want that for? Well, I don’t have practice today so I’ll go with you.” She informed and turned to the twins “You guys are coming too, right?”

“Sure”, “Count me in!”

“Cool. How about you, Souji-kun? You wanna come?” Yukari called out to the guy at the back of Minato’s seat who shook his head in refusal as he packed his things up “I would love to but I have to meet Kirijo-sempai a few minutes from now. She said she has a request for me.”

As he said the name, he felt some students stare. _Damn. Sempai sure has a lot of fans…_

“Really? …Bummer.” Yukari muttered

“Mitsuru-sempai? Are you in trouble or something?!” Asked a fearful Junpei who received a chortle from Souji “Don’t worry, I don’t think I did anything grave enough to receive her infamous ‘execution’ yet.”

“Maybe she’s going to make you join the Student Council. She did for us.” Minato guessed making Minako smile at the thought “Ooh… Sou-chan will join the Student Council too?! Cool!”

Souji irked at the possibility. He has more than enough bad memories regarding Student Councils to last a life time…

“Hmm…maybe, I dunno. She didn’t say why.” With his case packed, Souji stood from his seat and bobbed his head in goodbye as he made his way to the door “Say Hi to Akihiko-sempai for me.”

He closed the door and went downstairs. He met the red head outside the Faculty Office, inspecting the bulletin board but was interrupted by the boy who tapped her in the shoulder. “Seta, you’re here.”

“Yup. So, what’s your request?”

“Well, to make a long story short, I want you to join the Student Council.” _This reminds me too much of what happened before…_

“Um- Why all of a sudden?”

“Well, it’s not like you’ll have to participate in every activity. Just come to the Student Council Room when you have the time.” _That’s what they told me last time too…_

“Why me?”

“-Because of your leadership ability.”

“L-Leader? I know nothing about leading!”

“Don’t lie, it’s quite obvious that you have done it before. And though I hold no evidence, I can tell when one has experience in leading. You also gain the respect of many without being too assertive, Iori included which is a very impressive feat by itself.” She explained “Being President is very time consuming. I’d like additional help available in the event of an emergency. Knowing you, I thought that you would understand my situation.”

“ _*sigh*_ …Alright.” _They always did say I’m a bad liar…_

“I knew I could count on you. I’ve already made an appointment for you with the Faculty Adviser.” _So I had no choice from the start?_ “I might as well accompany you there and head straight to the Student Council Room.” She gestured him forward as they headed to the room together.

Souji doesn’t know if Mitsuru notices it but he could feel some shit ton of killing intent the moment he met up with Mitsuru. Well, maybe more than usual. Ever since the day Minako slipped and revealed that he stays with the two girls(and eventually Mitsuru), a lot of men and a few women have been glaring at him. He imagines that Minato and Junpei receive the same treatment. “I’m sorry for making the arrangements without your permission but I hope that you understand the position I’m in.”

“It’s okay. I guess it’s what I get for lying about my leadership abilities and all that.”

“Oh? Enlighten me then.”

“I used to be a Student Council member in my old school. It was really hectic. That’s why I’m a little wary in accepting your proposal.”

“Ah, that explains much.” They reached the door, opened it and greeted Souji’s adviser, Ms Toriumi

“Ah, Seta-kun… and Miss President—You are here for the Student Council?” The two nodded as the teacher grabbed a bundle from her desk “All you need to do is read here and sign these.”

Upon receiving it, Souji turned serious and carefully read them word for word, much to their surprise. “Um… Seta-kun, you can just…like- skim it, y’know? It’s really long and it just says that you’ll have to accept the consequences of your actions and the things you have to fulfil as a member…Y’know, the usual kind.” _A-Accept the consequences of my actions?! This is just like…!_

“Kirijo-sempai, I suggest that you go ahead. It seems that I will take a while in here” Souji ignored the teacher’s suggestion and continued to read the documents carefully, almost memorizing every word. Mitsuru found herself staring at the very serious boy. Even she only skimmed the documents handed to her, she didn’t expect him to be such a nut case in documents. _He takes paperwork seriously. Hmm he’ll be perfect._ ”Very well, I shall meet you later in the Student Council Room.”

She left him in his own devices. Souji has always been warned by Igor to read any paper that he signs. He might even end up selling his soul to the Devil…or Igor. Just earlier, he was even told by Theo that their latest guests entered a contract with them by signing a piece of paper. _I wonder who THOSE might be…_ he mentally chuckled.

After an hour of reading the documents back to back and inspecting the papers’ texture and smelling the ink just to make sure that it’s not from the underworld(or the Velvet Room), he signed them all. Ms. Toriumi accepted the papers, mildly impressed and amused “You take paperwork very seriously, Seta-kun. I keep forgetting that you used to be a part of the Student Council in your old school. What was your position again? Oh, that’s right! You were the…!”

“Y-Yes, I take them seriously. Goodbye, ma’am. Thanks for your time.”

He cut her off, awkwardly bowing and swiftly left the room heading to the Student Council Room where he was greeted by the President and its members. “Ah Seta, you’re here. Please come over.”

He did so and stood at her side in front of the room where the rest of the members(which is apparently  very few) watched curiously “Everyone this is Souji Seta.” He bowed “He’s the one I’ve been talking about for the past few days. He’ll be joining us in the Student Council.”

Souj muttered teasingly “Been talking about me? I’m flattered, sempai…”

“Shut up”

“Seta-kun, eh? Minako calls you…Sou-chan, right? She’s very fond of you.” said a demure looking student at the front. “I’m Hidetoshi Odagiri. I supervise the Disciplinary Committee”

“Ah, so YOU’RE Hidetoshi-san. Minako mentioned that you’ve been chasing a …smoker?”

“Yes, I haven’t had any luck though. You are free to help if you wish.”

“I’ll keep an eye out.”

His introduction was followed by the girl at his side whom he recognized as the timid girl who keeps hanging around the bulletin board outside the room which is adjacent to his own. “I’m Chihiro Fushimi, the treasurer. I’m a sophomore and um… I’m still learning the ropes, so… Please be patient with me Seta-san.”

“Hey, I know you…you’re the one who has been hanging out with Minato!”

“…!!!” The girl visibly blushed at the mention of the boy’s name and suddenly found her shoes very interesting “Yes, I- um… He’s mentioned you to me too. You’re his best friend, right? I-I’m sorry if you think that I’ve been spending too much time with him and—um”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m not thinking that at all!” _So shy…but kinda cute. I’ll have to tease Minato later…_

With the introductions done, he bowed one more time and spoke distinctly “Nice to meet you!”

The members smiled while Mitsuru nodded approvingly. He stood tall, unwavering and stayed confident, obviously used at being sized up by others. Hidetoshi smirked “You must be talented if the President hand-picked you.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint.”

Mitsuru gestured him to follow her and lead him to a messy table filled with towers of papers and folders. The moment they stopped in front of it, he felt the others’ pitiful glances and heard a few snigger in amusement. “This table belonged to an old member who changed schools and did not inform us before hand.” She grabbed the name plate at the front and replaced it with a new one with a very familiar name. Suddenly, he understood why she wanted him to join so badly. “This is now yours.”

“…And the papers?”

She smirked slyly “ALL yours.” _Yup, definitely like before…_

Feeling nostalgic, he stared at the piles of papers that seemed to crowd the entirety of the table, not sparing its sides and drawers. He spotted a few of the members sneakily hand money with the other, without a doubt already betting on how long he would be able to last. But instead of breaking down, he silently sat in front of the desk and inspected the first paper he placed his hands on, much to their surprise. _They’re underestimating me…_

He gathered all of them and arranged them by deadlines. He started to decipher his first document. Some moments after, he picked up his pen.

 _They obviously haven’t read my resume._ _*chuckle*_

* * *

 

Meanwhile in Inaba…

_Best friend, huh?_

Yosuke absently wondered in class as he twirled his pen in circles, ignoring King Moron’s lectures about purity and recalled the phone call of last night. He has always considered Souji as his best friend for the past year and hearing him talk about a ‘best friend’ that’s not him somehow makes his stomach twist. Souji calls him ‘Partner’ from time to time, yes but has he ever called Yosuke ‘best friend’? He tried to remember all the times he spent together with the guy and realized. _No, he has never called me that. I’ve heard many call Souji theirs but Souji never used the term on anybody before… until last night._

He inwardly wondered if out of all the people that made the proclamation, how many of them realized that Souji is not returning the sentiment. _It makes sense though. There’s only one for each person and Souji’s sure to have made tons of friends from before he arrived in Inaba so… why is my stomach churning? Must have been something I ate._

He was put out of his stupor by a tap in his arm and turned to see a worried Chie with Yukiko at her side. Seeing two women try to get his attention even if the other one is Chie, his ego would normally sky-rocket but somehow, he’s not feeling it. Chie placed her hands on her hips and matched it with a tilt in her head “Hey, you’ve been out of it the whole day more than usual. Something in your mind?”

He blinked in surprise, wondering how they’re permitted to stand in the middle of a lecture and turned to see that the said lecture is done and that most of the students are packing, groaning about the rain outside. _How come I didn’t notice that?_ “It’s nothing. Souji said something that bothered me a little and I guess I let it get to me too much.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“It’s about his-” He paused, realizing how weird it would sound and quickly diverted it to a different topic “—hot female dorm mates.”

Everything went silent. The women who have been eavesdropping about their favourite ex-classmate went stilled. The men cursed their luck for being in the same room as the said women and quickly rushed out of the room, whispering silent prayers for the Junes boy. Said boy went still, realizing his grave mistake. Meanwhile, somewhere in Iwatodai, a young man is suffering a serious case of sneezes accompanied with severe chills in the spine.

“his what?” Chie uttered, very audible despite the hushed tone and it made Yosuke more fearful than ever before because if a loud and angry Chie is someone who kicks men in the nads then a quiet and furious Chiae is someone who… does ‘circumcision’. Out of survival instincts, his feet finally obeyed him and rushed out of the door, not caring if he left his bag and not daring to look back. He sprinted, barely registering the shouts from behind and a very familiar, unusually sharp red fan fly which got stuck impressively in a wall where his head would’ve been.

Yosuke has always dreamed of being chased by girls…

A few minutes later, he found himself wet from the rain and heaving at the Junes electronics department.

He was reprimanded by his father for being a bother to the customers and Yosuke apologized after, his father leaving him to hold unto one of the display tables near the huge flat screen TVs in exhaustion. _At least I lost them. God knows what they’ll do to me if—Wait, I still have school tomorrow_...

_-Damn you, Souji._

As he did all these, he didn’t hear two rushing steps from behind. He only noticed and turned when it was too late only to see nothing but green. He staggered from the force and waited for the feel of tiled floors. Unusually, it was a few seconds before he felt himself land. That and the floor he landed on were not tiled.

He felt a sharp pain in his buttocks registering that it must have been caused by his wallet. He groaned as he tried to sit up but noticed someone slightly drenched on top of him. He recognized a somewhat sweet smell, green jacket and short hair. Soft things were pressing on his chest and reddened as he realized what they were. “Chie! Get- off of me I—I can’t breath!”

He heard a soft moan and felt her stiffen, suddenly jumping up after waking up and realizing the position they were in. “Uh haha… sorry.” She apologized awkwardly while rubbing the back of her head. She helped up her best friend who was still on the floor as the boy assessed the place trying to hide his still coloured cheeks.

After helping Yukiko up, Chie joined him in looking around but both failed to see anything significant because of the heavy fog engulfing the area. Yosuke spoke “Uh-How did we get here?” To which Chie replied with a shrug and a recall of what just happened “We were chasing you to interrog-ask you about what Souji said. They were so fixed up on catching you that they forgot that it was raining and only Yukiko and I remembered. We saw you in the Electronics Department and ran but we couldn’t stop our feet so we ended up crashing.”

Noticing Yukiko’s silence, the two turned to see her ashen face and wide unsettled eyes. “Hey Yukiko, I know that we’re trapped here and don’t know where we are but don’t worry. We can do this!”

Yukiko as though not hearing Chie blinked, remembering something and pulled out a pair of red glasses and wore it. She let out a sigh of relief as her vision cleared and tried to slow down the hard poundings in her chest. “Huh? Yukiko, what’s with the glasses?”

“It helps me see through the fog” Yukiko nervously shuffled in her spot, uncertain on how to proceed while remembered the promise she made with Souji. Her accidental slip-up yesterday was disastrous but with the two experiencing the very secret she promised to keep, she couldn’t think of anymore excuses. “I’m… not entirely honest with you guys.”

She explained what happened during her disappearance. As the explanation went on, Yosuke’s and Chie’s faces shifted into a variety of emotions as Yukiko threw unbelievable stories left and right. “So, what you’re saying is that…” Chie massaged her temples as she tried to process everything Yukiko just said “This is a world inside TVs where you can harness your ‘other self’ and use them to defeat evil monsters. Are you sure you didn’t suffer any concussions a couple weeks ago?”

“I particularly like the fight scenes. Yukiko-san, you need to write a manga after this.”

Yukiko groaned. _Was this how Souji-kun felt? I’ll have to apologize the next time we meet…_

“From Junes, you were transported into a wide open space that you are unaware of despite living in Inaba for years in mere seconds… you’re experiencing it right now and you STILL can’t believe it?” She removed her glasses and offered it to the two wary teenagers “Try wearing these. You’ll understand.”

Chie reluctantly tested the glasses and gasped “Wow! It’s so clear…” A few moments later, she gave it to Yosuke whose jaw slackened the moment he put it on.

“Y-You’re saying _Ted_ made this? …THAT Teddie?! The one who turned food into ash the first time he was assigned to the food sampling stall?!”

“Hey, they weren’t so bad!”

“They were practically CHARCOAL!”

“They’re still MEAT!”

“ _Snrk.._ pffthahahaha…A- _Ahem!-_ Um well, this IS his home and he’s only known about our world after meeting Souji-kun.”

“And my buddy has been busy _not_ because of biker gangs but because he needs to fight Shadows in this place? Now that I think about it, his exact wordings were ‘I fight evil’ but because of the rumours spreading around that time… Oh man, this is a lot to take in.” He groaned as he grabbed his head, trying to ease out the pain but suddenly jumped as he processed one of the details in Yukiko’s explanation “Wait-You’re saying that Teddie lets out people in here but… He’s in Junes now. So how can we-?”

Yukiko shook her head as she nursed her own headache “That’s the problem. We’ll have to wait until Teddie or Souji arrives. I think Teddie made Souji his own exit but since I only figured all this out a few weeks ago and Souji doesn’t want me joining him in fighting Shadows because it’s dangerous, I don’t know where his exit is. I’m sorry, this is all my fault.”

“Oh Yukiko, it’s alright. It may have been your ability to enter TVs but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault.” Chie comforted “How about we investigate this place? Who knows, we might even find Souji’s exit. Right, Yosuke?”

“Right! We couldn’t just wait here and do nothing…”

With that, the three decided to walk around, all of them holding hands to ensure that nobody gets lost in the fog. Yukiko took the lead with Chie in the middle and Yosuke the last, much to his embarrassment considering what happened a while ago. They roamed around and found what looks like an apartment complex and entered a portal revealing a room with cut-up posters. “Hey Yukiko, do you know this place?”

“I’ve been here only once before so I never got the chance to explore.” Yukiko replied and examined the duplicated posters “Souji mentioned something about this though. That people who enter here affect this place, that this world fabricates ‘realities’ of them, a representation of their characteristics and lives. This poster here looks like that of the Enka Singer right? The wife of Taro Namatame? Then that means…”

Chie nodded in agreement as she came to the same conclusion as her “… this reality is Mayumi Yamano’s.”

As the women discussed, Yosuke wandered around but paused as he spotted a very eerie arrangement in the center of the room “Um-guys? Isn’t this…?” He shakily pointed a finger to the display that made them gasp. It was that of a chair, a pink scarf tied in a noose hanging above it. “That arrangement’s NEVER good.”

“When news of their relationship got out, Yamano was suspended. She practically lost her job, Namatame can’t go see her and people bashed her everywhere… It’s no wonder she considered suicide.” Yukiko explained

“With enough time, this world can produce a reality for people who enter without Personas. If this is Yamano’s reality then…” Yosuke muttered absently “Wouldn’t Saki-sempai have one too?”

The women squirmed at the name with Chie asking “Are you sure, Yosuke?” he nodded determinedly

“The only lead we had was the Midnight Channel but if it’s true that this world is connected with it in some way then…Please, I know now that she was killed by Shadows but I just want to see her reality with my own eyes!”

Yosuke left, quickly eyeballing anything unusual with the girls on tow. He took the lead, borrowing Yukiko’s glasses. Moments later, he spotted a silhouette of buildings. They advanced towards it but paused as they recognized the familiar street.”THIS is her reality? If this is the shopping district then-!” Yosuke rushed to a particular shop, the sign outside and the red and black portal from before wiped out any suspicions he had. The women looked at the other worriedly as Yosuke stared. He was about to enter when out of nowhere, they heard voices **“Ugh I wish Junes would go under…” “It’s all because of that store!”,**

“Wh-Wha…?” Yosuke cringed at the name of their store. He has always known about the animosity directed to him because of his family’s work but he has never had them in display in front of his friends.

**“Oh, I heard that Konishi-san’s daughter is working there”, “Oh my, how could she? With her family’s store running out of business”, “I heard their sales have gone downhill BECAUSE of Junes!”**

“S-Stop it….” _What the hell?_

**“That poor father… to have his own daughter work for the enemy”, “What a troublesome child”**

_This is- sempai’s reality?!_

“Come on, guys. I’ve heard enough in here…” He faced the portal again, trying to ignore the voices. He entered the portal followed by the girls and found the inside of the liquor store where they heard another voice, much to Yosuke’s dismay.

 **“Saki, how many times do I have to tell you?!”** _Is this-sempai’s dad?_ **“You know what the neighbours say about you, right? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?! You’re the eldest daughter of a family who’s owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE of all places!”**

“I-I can’t believe this. She seemed to have fun at work. She never said anything about this to me!” Yosuke exclaimed not noticing the pitiful glances directed to him “You’re telling me THIS is how sempai really saw things?!”

Something on top of the table caught his attention and ran towards it “H-Hey this is- the photo we took in the other day with the other part timers at Junes! Why is it cut-up like this?” Suddenly another voice echoed in the room but it was a familiar one that made Yosuke’s heart ache, never expecting that he would be able to hear it again ever since a couple of weeks ago **“I-I never had the chance to say it-”**

“Is that-sempai’s voice?!” **“I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…”** Yosuke felt his heart pace double at the sound of his name. _Wanted to tell me what?! Wh-What did she-!_

**“That he’s a real pain in the ass!”**

_Wh-WHAT?!_ **“I was nice to him just because he was the store manager’s son, that’s all… But he takes it the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic! What a dip…”** “P-Pain in the ass?” **“Who cares about Junes anyway? Because of that store, our family is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbours talk behind my back… I wish everything would just disappear.”**

“It’s-It’s a lie… This can’t be! Sempai’s not like that!”

“It’s _*sniff*_ so sad…I feel so sorry for myself… Boo hoo” The women stared at Yosuke incredulously at his words and noticed that he was as surprised to hear his own and the three turned around to see—

“Actually, I’m the one who thinks everything is a pain in the ass! Hahaha…” Yosuke and Chie stared disbelievingly at the doppelganger while Yukiko felt her blood run cold at the realization of what’s happening and grabbed her fan in preparation.

“Who are you?! I wouldn’t think that!” Yosuke refuted but the other only laughed again in amusement

“Haha Yeah right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the Shopping District AND Junes too! You’re sick of everything…Especially living out in the sticks!” Yosuke felt his stomach churn and was about to refute again when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder and heard Yukiko’s voice “Stop it, Yosuke! I’ve told you what happened to me before, right? We understand, please accept him!”

“N-No I-That’s not true! I-“ He was cut off by the doppelganger “You put on a good show of being care-free and happy go lucky cause you’re so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You’ve gotta surround yourself by people to block out the feeling of isolation. Too bad your ‘best friend’ left you here, he even replaced you and everything…Oh wait, I forgot! He never considered you as his best buddy in the first place huh?! He even kept secrets and everything! And what’s this about checking this world for Saki-sempai’s sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping…”

“S-Stop it…!”

“Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe… I DO know everything you’re thinking! Why’s that? Because I AM you! You explored this place because it sounded like a good time NOT because you’re finding a way out or for your sempai’s sake. What else is there to do out in this shithole? A world inside the TV—now THAT’S exciting! You didn’t have a single reason for coming here, did you?!”

“That’s not true…Stop…Stop it…” Yosuke muttered ignoring Yukiko’s disapproving look

“You’re just trying to act like a big shot… If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a hero! And that Sempai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!”

“That’s not true! What are you?! Who are you?!”

“ _*chuckle*_ I already told ya…I’m you… Your Shadow…There’s nothing I don’t know about you!”

“Screw that! I don’t know you!” Yukiko, having accepted that Yosuke won’t back down, readied her fan and gestured Chie to back away. “You can’t be me, you son of a bitch!!”

The Shadow howled with laughter “THAT’S RIGHT! SAY IT AGAIN!”

“Y-You’re not me…” Yukiko’s face was clear to Chie: _This is gonna get messy_ “-YOU’RE NOTHING LIKE ME!”

Everything became silent at the proclamation. For a moment, Yosuke was relieved but it was short lived as the Shadow nodded, smirking “Yeah, that’s right. I am ME now” It looked at him in the eye and Yosuke felt nauseas upon realizing what he had done “I’m not YOU anymore, see?”

Light engulfed the Shadow, the air contracted and gathered where the doppelganger’s been. Yukiko, recognizing the signs, grabbed Yosuke who was in the front line by the arm and shouted an order. “Yosuke-kun, get out of the way!” She pushed him alongside a trembling Chie “Find cover!”

Yosuke and Chie, startled at the sudden aggressiveness of the usually reserved girl hid behind the kegs. They watched as the dark miasma clear out revealing a huge green camouflage patterned frog with black yellow-striped feet, its equally gigantic mouth is full with razor-sharp teeth. On top of it is a black torso, wearing nothing but a long red scarf and yellow gloves. It has no face and where its eyes should’ve been is a pair of gold shurikens. Yosuke would’ve laughed at the stupid-looking boss if its eyes weren’t directed to him. The Shadow started to advance to the boy but was interrupted by a shrill voice at its side. “Konohana Sakuya!”

The Shadow let out a wail as one of its legs seared. It turned to see the girl in red, a shimmering figure on top of her head. “I won’t let you touch my friends!”

The frog jumped in the air, heading straight to Yukiko but she saw it coming and lunged to the side. A Wind of Oblivion was released upon its descent. She was too slow however, making her collide in the nearby liquor shelf. She was knocked out with a loud bang as several bottles were shattered. “Ow…” Weary and bruised from the glass shards, she stood up as the familiar blue tarot card appeared before her. With her fan, she smashed the card, crushing it, causing her Persona to release another Agi spell on the monster.

The Shadow jumped, barely evading the scalding fire from the Persona’s pink feathers. As it did so, Yukiko grabbed a Peach Seed, a present from Teddie and swallowed it, cringing from the size and texture but eventually sighed as she felt the after effects Teddie told her about. She checked on her friends at the side to ensure their safety and turned to see her opponent doing a power charge.

After it was done, she stood still, eyeing the sturdy shelf at the side and dived behind it as one of its hands smashed the area where she has been. She got out of her hiding place to see her enemy doing another Power Charge. _This is bad._ Quickly surveying the area for a good cover, she noticed small licking flames in the floor from some of the spilled alcohol. _THAT’S…!_

While the enemy is charging, she grabbed as many heavy shelves as she could and pushed them over, breaking the bottles. She shouted at the two “Throw bottles at it!” The two did so as she spilled some of the bottle’s contents in the wooden barrels and spilled the metal kegs.

_“Yukiko, there’s a component in alcoholic beverages that makes them flammable called Ethanol.”_

She dragged as many chairs and tables as she could while the monster get distracted by the other two. When she’s had enough, she whistled with her fingers, drawing the attention of the monster.

_“That’s why you should be careful in using fire especially when alcohol is present.”_

She took a deep breath as she shouted, remembering Yosuke’s lessons in derogatory insults “YOUR MOM!!!”

Yukiko thought that Yosuke isn’t a very good teacher. It did the trick though as the Shadow jumped once again and lunged towards her with a power charged Wind of Oblivion. Yukiko sprinted to her friends causing the Shadow to miss and crash in the collected pile of junk she gathered together. It turned to see its smirking target with her friends at her side, her Persona summoned and stretching its pink wings on the Shadow’s crumpled form. The Shadow’s eyes widened at the realization. _  
_

“AGI!”

The three who stood far away watched as the Shadow screamed in agony and was engulfed in flames. The result of their joined efforts caused the Agi spell to produce a damage that could rival that of an Agidyne. It jumped and rolled trying to put the fire away but failed to do so as the fires continued to lick its form. The Shadow slowly shrivelled, fires no longer licked it as he went back to being Yosuke’s doppelganger. Yukiko spread her fan in case it gets any funny ideas as Chie squeezed Yosuke’s arm in a comforting gesture. He slowly walked towards the Shadow who was now standing up, blankly staring at its host. “Y-You’re...not me” He insisted and heard his friends speak behind him.

“Yosuke-kun, I’ve faced mine before. All of us think that way sometimes.”

“Hey, it’s alright. We’ve always known you were a jerk so this doesn’t make much of a difference.”

“…Dammit. It hurts to face yourself” He grimaced “I knew it wasn’t lying. But I was so ashamed that it hurts to admit it.”

He stared at his other self. It has a somber look on its face and he wondered if he has the same expression at the moment “You’re me…And I’m you. When you get down to it, all of this is me.”

The Shadow nodded as it shimmered and transformed into the scarf wearing torso from before but this time, with legs and wearing white. Remnants of the camouflage pattern from the frog can be seen in the cuffs of its arms and legs. It retained its face but with the frog’s eyes on top its head and the frog’s wide mouth served what appears to be a design for its outfit, placed just below its neck.

He heard a soft whisper as the Persona introduced itself to him and he smiled, feeling an empty void inside himself fill up. He collapsed on his knees, overwhelmed at the turn of events as the girls helped him up right after letting him catch his breath. He waved them off in annoyance but smiled never the less “Yukiko-san, sorry for letting you handle that and-thanks. And Chie… What the hell is wrong with you?! ‘We’ve always known you were a jerk’? Is that supposed to be comforting?!”

“Well, it’s true.”

“You can be— _snrk!..._ pretty mean sometimes…hahahaha!”

“Yukiko-san too?! …Damn” Yosuke grumbled as Chie turned to her best friend, ignoring his whine

 “That was really cool though, as expected of Yukiko! Wait- Does that mean Yosuke has his own too?”

Yosuke felt a presence in his head at the question and nodded to Chie who sighed wistfully “The power-up seems nice but if I have to face my own doppelganger and listen to it spout things like that, I dunno if I’ll be able to accept it…”

“Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to be like Souji-kun.” Yukiko said as they continued to explore the area. If they were lucky, they should be able to find Souji’s exit. If not, then they would have to spend a few days there. “Teddie said that Souji-kun must have had his Persona right from the start since he managed to enter the TV world in the first place. I asked how but it turns out, he has never bothered to ask how Souji-kun got his.”

“That’s no surprise. Souji has always been the secretive ty—OH! What’s that?!” Chie exclaimed, excited as she pointed somewhere far away. Her friends stopped to look. Yosuke’s eyes widened at the impressive structure while Yukiko shrivelled and voiced out her trepidation “I—I don’t think we should go there…”

“Huh? But—Wait, a castle… that’s your reality, Yukiko? If so then wouldn’t it be much easier for them to find us if we stay there?”

“Well, yeah but- _*sigh*_ Alright, let’s stay there for a while.” She conceded “Hopefully, we would have dispersed enough of our smells to make Ted notice us. How you saw that before I did despite all the fog is surprising though, you must have really good eyes Chie.”

“Fog? Oh that, it’s not so thick that I couldn’t see anything. I mean me and Yosuke could walk just fine without holding hands now, unlike before.” She informed as she showed her hands with a nodding Yosuke, doing the same. _They could see enough? But that’s impossible, how did they-?!_

“Now that I think about it, I think it got thinner when we got out of that Shopping District—Yukiko? Wh-what’s wrong?” Chie inquired as a very pale Yukiko took a step back in alarm.

“Th-Thinner…?” _Why does that sound bad to me? The fog’s getting thinner…thin-_

_“The TV World is a beeeaaaary dangerous place, Yuki-chan. You need to understand why Sensei forbids you in entering that place ever again!”_

_“Yukiko, it’s a world where thoughts of humans take form. I’ve been exploring that place for about 7 years...Ted has lived there his whole life and yet there are STILL things that we don’t know about it. We’re lucky you were thrown in there when the weather’s good…”_

_”Yuki-chan, if you were thrown in after many rainy days in the real world, I’m not sure if even Sensei could’ve saved you!”_

_“-Because whenever it gets foggy in the real world, the fog recedes in the other side…”_

_“-And when it does…!”_

**_“That’s where the real trouble begins”_ **

“Yukiko?”, “Yukiko-san, are you okay?”

“How many days has it been raining?”

“Raining?! Yukiko, is it really the time to ask about the weather right now?”

“-1…2—this makes the…third day, maybe? Why?”

Yukiko continued to stare at the tall far away castle. Gingerly, she took off her glasses.

It was still visible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last day for saving Yukiko is actually supposed to be BEFORE the Priestess Shadow boss but I switched them. I think I’ll be doing some switch ups in the future chapters too. Just a little heads up in case you get confused.
> 
> P.S. Long chapters is bad for your health. Don't do it.


	10. Clear

The occupants worked diligently, with some running errands and a few others printing and photocopying necessary documents ranging from club requests to dossiers of the school administrators. As the hours passed, members slowly diminished, each saying farewells especially to the newly appointed member. Said member continued his work, not noticing the drop of occupants until he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see a can labelled as Cylon Tea. He recognized the feminine hand holding it and looked further up to see his new boss offering the said can as she held another one for herself.

“You’ve done enough for today.” He greatly accepted the offered can, which let a small hiss upon its open. He took a small sip, letting the curious taste envelope his tongue as he scrutinized more closely the room and was surprised to find it vacant except for the two of them. “You indeed have the skills for this”

He jerked “Excuse me?”

“I said you have the necessary skills… for a member of the Student Body.” She complimented as she took a glance at his still towering papers. He followed her line of sight and realized the reduction of about one fourth of one of its pile. They looked like a miniature city with its towering formations beside Souji’s work table. He’s still got a long way to go but he is confident that he’ll finish it. _Maybe by the end of the month…? I’ll have to bring some to my room._

“Thanks, got some practice.” _Lots of practice_ “So, with all these things and requests going on, you mustn’t have a lot of volunteers.”

“There are several volunteers actually. They are more of liabilities than assets unfortunately.” She sighed “If they worked as much as they ogled, I won’t have to work half as much as I do. I was stared at like some circus animal for a whole week and ever since then, the Student Body stopped accepting volunteers and I had to do all the picking.”

“And how do you choose candidates?”

“I have a good eye for people.” _Not good enough to see through you though._ “I met Fushimi followed by Odagiri, the Arisatos and now you.” _…at least not yet._

Souji nodded absently, recalling the short dealings he had with Hidetori and Chihiro. Hidetori seems very passionate with his work and bringing people to justice which suits his work with him just fine. Chihiro appears to have some problems in dealing with men but does her work very seriously nonetheless. Minato and Minako’s good in whatever they put their hearts on. The rest of the members are all good and has a stable working relationship but…

“Chihiro-san’s an honest sort, Odagiri-san’s authoritative, the twins are… well, y’know what they are.” He looked at her “You said before that the reason you asked for me is for my leadership skills… that’s not the only thing there is to it, yes?”

It turned out to be more of a statement than a question for Mitsuru’s ears. “You do not belong to any clubs, you do not take companionship as seriously as the Arisatos do and the only confidants you seem to have are either members of S.E.E.S or your friends in Inaba… I thought you have too much time in your hands” It was a half truth and they both know it. A brief stare down commenced between the two, making the air so thick it would make an outsider hard to breath when put in the same room as them. It  became deathly silent as the only sounds they can hear are the hushed steps outside the room. Neither knew who was winning when Souji’s phone rang making the two jump. He picked it up, setting down his Cylon Tea. “Hello?”

**_“Hey sempai!”_ **

“Kanji? What’s up?” He gave Mitsuru a look who proceeded to head for her table as though nothing happened. His attention was switched when he heard a sneeze from the other line. “Did Ted pass you my message? Are you sick?”

 ** _“I got a little drenched but not sick and yeah, thanks for the reminder, sempai. I always forget the damn thing.”_** He grumbled **_“You don’ have to remind me anymore though. Geez you’re worse than my Ma.”_**

“Well? Why’d you call?-not that I mind though.”

**_“Oh just to say thanks and tell you that you don’ have to remind every time anymore. Sides’, you’re living in Iwatodai now, you should check the weather in Iwatodai NOT Inaba”_ **

“Ah yeah- I uh tend to get it mixed up.” He replied nervously “So I heard the weather there’s not so good with the rain and fog and all… How’s everybody?”

**_“We’re doin’ fine but the weather’s goin’ bad. Speaking of everybody, Yosuke-sempai got into some trouble just a while ago. So uh- how is it there? Haha must be heaven on Earth for ya.”_ **

“What’s heaven on Earth?”

**_“Y’know, you living with hot babes and stuff”_ ** _Wha-? **“Yosuke-sempai let it slip and the entirety of Yasogami’s female population went loco. Let me tell ya, he runs fast. Daisuke-sempai was even thinkin’ about recruitin’ im’. I dunno where he went but it looks like Yukiko-sempai and Chie-sempai went after im’ since they all left their bags in the room. I will have ta carry them all with me back home.”**_

His thoughts of dismembering Yosuke were cut short. “What do you mean?”

**_“I guess they went straight home with the rain and all. I think I heard some of the gals saying they headed to Junes.”_ **

“Thanks, Kanji. I’ll call you back next time, okay?”

 ** _“Kay’ sempai.”_** He heard the other line snap and pocketed the phone.

“Trouble?”

“Nah, it’s nothing.” _Yosuke must be fooling around again. Besides, Yukiko will never do anything to harm those two._ He sat back in his seat, swirling himself in it to face the window outside “A buddy of mine has been spreading rumours is all.”

“Rumours?”

“About my living arrangements in the dorm. He’s kinda like Junpei and is making a big deal about me getting to live with hot babes and stuff.” He muttered absently while sending a text message to Ted to find the three, just to make sure. He felt something off though. _Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?_

“Hot babes, huh?”

“Oh uh-” _Hot babes? Did I just say hot babes? Why did I say that? What are we talking about again?_ “He asked me if I could mention any hot girls in here and- well…”

“And?” He can almost picture the sly smirk in her face while he watched the orange evening sky turn dark in the window “What did you say?”

“I said I’m living with some.” _Why is she chuckling? I wasn’t talking about you. Nope, definitely not._ “Hey, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t we be getting back now?”

“You go ahead. I still have some more work to finish.” He frowned, having heard that line too many times before.

“You sure?” She nodded. With that, he picked up the paper he was previously working on and started analyzing its contents; not bothering to look up at the President’s confused expression.

“I thought you’re going to leave?”

“I never said that.”

* * *

  


“Do you always go home this late?” Minako asked

“Only in really busy times- the number of students who join clubs is now on its peak and with the first test coming up, we have to make sure to finish the remaining files since we’ll need to deal with students’ exam results next.” It was very late and they met up with the twins on their way home. “I’ve been hearing things about the three of you by the way, I’m expecting great results. I will reward you if you do well enough.”

Minako beamed at this while her brother took off an ear phone in interest. “Ooh! What sort of rewards- no, wait I don’t wanna know. It’ll ruin the surprise!”

“You seem very confident about topping the exams. Do you not consider these two your rivals?”

The boys shared a smirk at this. _You have no idea…_

“I’m not into bragging but I’m really good in exams.” She claimed assuredly “Back when we were kids, I would always top it, followed by Onii-chan or Sou-chan.”

“That brings back memories” Minato muttered “Strange. We could remember those stuff but we still couldn’t remember what happened that night.”

“That night?” asked the curious Mitsuru

“There was this accident ten years ago…” Minato replied, looking at his right palm, examining the small blemished areas where his burns were used to be “There were a lot of casualties but our family, including Souji here survived when the rest of the people around our car perished. The toll was really high and—Mitsuru-sempai, what’s wrong?”

He halted his explanation upon seeing his sempai tremble and her complexion turn ashen. She unconsciously pursed her lips as she remembered the words her father imparted a day before the twins’ arrival.

**_“Keep an eye on them. They are much more than what meets the eye.”_ **

She shook her head, recovering from the sudden onslaught of shock “Is that the one on the Moonlight Bridge? I think I’ve read an article about it somewhere…”

“They say it’s a chain reaction from a car crash but that doesn’t explain why Onii-chan’s hands were burned and my parents and I suddenly got out of the car when it all transpired.” She mumbled “The biggest mystery however was how Sou-chan disappeared and-”

She turned but found the boy a little left behind. Forgetting the earlier topic, the other two stopped and looked at where she was calling out to find the teen engrossed in a board full of posters and flyers ”-Sou-chan?”

“The school allows their students to take up part-time jobs, right?” They gave him bemused looks, with Mitsuru asking

“Why would you need a job for? I don’t want to pry but are you financially unstable? The dorm offers free lodgings and the school accepts scholars. You wouldn’t have any problems with your current performance. I could also lend you some if-”

“No, I don’t need-, I-I mean I DO need it but… not in that way.” He shuffled awkwardly “I used to have a lot of part-time jobs in Inaba and though I’m busy enough with the Dark Hour and now, the Student Council… it feels like- something’s missing.” He’s not the type to relax and his spare time is usually spent with friends or Nanako. Constant movement and a busy life is his thing, something he inherited from his parents he used to hate so much. With time and maturity, he’s grown to understand them… that doesn’t make him like them though- they’re still strangers to him with their relationship- or lack thereof.

He stared at the flyers and detached the one he finds most interesting. Minako strutted over to look over what he pulled out and frowned upon having a closer inspection “With all the good part-time offers, you chose that? Are you out of your mind?!”

“I used to work in a… similar environment. I only helped with the cleaning though.”

“You could have chosen to be an assistant cook. I know, we’ve tried your food! Setting your age aside, we also need to deal with the Dark Hour every night! How could you-?”

“Relax, I don’t have to be there all the time. I’ll still join you guys in Tartarus, don’t worry. Back then, I used to juggle around 7 jobs and still top exams. One job won’t hurt.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

* * *

  


_“Mom, dad, I’m going now!”_

_“Be careful on your way!”, “Remember to give your friend his wage. The bear forgot to claim it yesterday again…”_

**_It was a morning like any other…_ **

_“Yo sempai!”, “Good morning, Yosuke!”_

_“Hey Kanj! Ted, you stupid bear , you forgot to claim your pay again!”_

**_So WHY?—_ **

“YOSUKE, BEHIND YOU!!”

His thoughts were caught off as he heard Chie’s shout and rolled away, feeling searing heat from behind and watched the Agi spell made contact with the Laughing Table he was facing, cursing as it shrugged away the blaze that would have reduced a normal table to ash.

**_-WHY did this have to happen?_ **

He checked to see where the Agi spell came from and instantly spotted the accursed cross that repelled all their attacks except for physical ones.

“CHIE, FINISH THAT THING OFF!”

**_We’re supposed to be safe in the castle. We know what to expect in the castle._ **

 “I’M A LITTLE BUSY AT THE MOMENT!!!” He turned to see her facing off with two other Heat Balances, Secret Bambinos, a pair of Trance Twins and others he couldn’t make out. He crushed the card that was in his hand and interrupted one of their castings. He sent Jiraiya to her, whispering in his breath the spell ‘Bash’ as he dodged his opponent’s table leg, puncturing the castle floor and making it stuck to it. Seeing a rare opening, he shouted out. “JIRAIYA, GARU!”

**_We were wrong…it didn’t even take long for them to find us. We should’ve expected them to be more attracted to Persona users than ordinary humans._ **

The Persona who was with Chie a while ago heeded his calling and sent a blast of wind on the table’s way, discovering its weakness to wind as it was blown into several pieces. With that finished, Yosuke pulled out the still stuck table leg in the flooring and ran to his friends’ aid with his new weapon of choice. He spotted Yukiko cast an Agi spell that reduced a couple of Trance Twins into ashes and immediately called out a Garu spell when he spotted a Laughing Table from one of her opponents. He heard Chie cry out and turned to see her sprawled out in the floor, a Heat Balance towering the injured girl. He rushed to her side. Handling the table leg like a baseball baton, he swung at the Shadow making it fly away but not disintegrate. He turned to the rest of them, heaving, giving his injured friend some time to rise or Yukiko for a chance to heal Chie.

**_Ted…_ **

He vaguely noticed more of them coming from the staircase, making them trapped behind the sealed door where the rest of the tar-like Shadows are budging from the other side, trying to enter the castle walls. He blearily heard a familiar clang of metal and spotted 3 Bronze Dices doing familiar spins.

**_Partner…_ **

“TAKE COVER!” Learning from probably the most unforgettable mistake they’ve ever made, they desperately ducked behind the nearest pillars and Shadows they can find. A second later, metallic clicks resounded at the center of the room, obscuring everything with blinding light. Their respective shields kept them from the detonation that made the majority of their enemy Shadows disintegrate. Those Dices are truly blessings in disguise they thought.

**_If any of you are listening now… Please-_ **

They haven’t felt so exhausted in their lives and relief washed over them for every bash they made to the Shadows that fell unconscious from the explosion, finally having a breather and some time to heal. It was however cut off by a neigh from a distance, accompanying it is a clutter of hooves. That was the very least of their worries though when they saw a jaw-slackened Chie fall in her knees in despair… and her menacing double staring down at her.

“Hello, useless.”

**_Please hurry the fuck up._ **

* * *

  


“H-hello? Yosuke? Chie-chan? Yuki-chan…? A-are you there?!”

Meanwhile, a certain bear is roaming the cold and dark walkways of the Junes Department Store. He just travelled Inaba twice and visited the Satonaka household, Hanamura household and the Amagi Inn more than five times over. He has been searching everywhere for the three and skipped his part-time in Junes ever since he received the orders from his Sensei to go find them.

“H-How P-PAWtrifying~! I swear when Sensei gets back, I’m gonna make him treat me topsicles!”

The poor bear trembled as he continued his search in the closed department store. He reached the electronics department for the third time that night and continued to stroll when his nose caught an unusual scent. “HMM?!”

He whirled quickly to find a flat-screen T.V. - HIS flat-screen T.V. - the one he uses to enter the Shadow World. The thick scent of Shadows assaulted his nostrils but it was much stronger than usual. It was as though the Shadows are greatly aggravated. He reluctantly reached out to touch the screen but hesitated as he caught the light fog ominously hanging outside the glass windows. He’s searched every inch of Inaba except the Other Side…and underwater of the Samegawa Flood Plain. He can’t swim though but really, he would rather drown in the flood plains than enter the Other Side with however thin the fog currently is in Inaba. But if that’s where his friends really are then…

He took out his phone and pressed a name. The other line wasn’t picking up and he began to pace nervously as he noticed the fog outside thicken. After several tries, he couldn’t take it anymore and sent a message for him to see. He checked the wall clock, displaying 11: 38.  minutes before midnight. And so, with a shaky breath, he entered. If his friends were to survive then they’re going to need him, at the very least.

* * *

  


After showering, he went straight in his room- leaving the team to cater to a certain tied up Junpei Iori, each one holding notes which they read to him aloud until he feels as though his ears are starting to bleed. He faintly heard the teen scream for help as Yukari started to write random numbers behind his back- a Japanese belief about writing exam answers in oneself boosting the chances of passing. He did left his notes to Minato though. God knows how much Junpei is going to need it with the number of times Minako had to whisper answers to him during recitations. _Minako’s being too soft on him… then again, I was the same with Yosuke and the girls._

He unpacked his things, laying his take home papers beside his desk. He checked the time and found it to be 22 minutes until midnight. If he were in Inaba right now, he would be studying while waiting for the Midnight Channel to air. He’s not in Inaba though. Despite this, he could not help but reminisce and stared at his T.V. screen like many times before. He held his breath, hearing the pretend tick of the clock that indicated it was midnight. After several moments, he cringed as he felt his head throb. _Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?_

He sat at his bedside as he nursed his head, still absently staring at the television, recalling all the recent events and a particular one still bothered him to no end. There’s someone who’s using the Shadow World to murder people. It targeted people from his hometown so he or she MUST be in Inaba. The ability would certainly be a useful way to kill someone without evidence; he can see that but… _What’s his intent? And how did he get his ability? Is he a Persona-user?_

He lied in his bed on his shirt and sweat pants, worried. He would gladly search for the culprit but he’s in Iwatodai now and if the murder’s in Inaba then he will have to do a lot of travelling. So much is going on and there is no doubt in his mind that these must be the two Journeys Igor has been talking about.

He closed his eyes, a single thought still lingering at the back of his head as he urged his mind to drift.

_Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?_

* * *

  


“What’s wrong?! You think you can protect anybody with that wimpy strength of yours?!” The yellow-eyed girl continued to berate as she sat and watched on a window sill- her legs dangling. “Golly this is soooo boring. Hey! We’re inside a T.V., right? Are there any Kung Fu movies I could watch in here because really, what else CAN I do? That’s all I’m ever good at! Well that and eating meat but you’re not carrying any groceries with you, now are you?”

“No, we don't so shut up or we'll shut it for you!”

“Ooh~! Scaaarryyyy~” She giggled “I wonder how long you’ll last against me… 10 minutes- or is it seconds?”

“Chie, focus!” yelled Yukiko as she is facing off with one of those horse-riding Shadow with Yosuke killing all those who gets near her.

“Tch!” She ducked, dodging a hit from a Phantom Mage and made a slipped a kick from below, making her enemy fall and crush by the girl’s sole. She turned slightly and back handed behind her where a Heat Balance got too close. She caught reds and greens in the corner of her eyes as her friends summoned their helpers. It has been the second Avenger Knight that arrived and judging by how long it took them to finish off the first one, she could tell that this would be another long fight. _If only it’s not resistant to Physical hits then maybe…_

“Haaaaa~ if only it’s not resistant to Physical hits then maybe I could help them finish it off…” She cringed as she heard the bored sounding voice above them. Ever since she realized that the Thing could somehow read her mind, all sorts of deep dark secrets have been sprouting in her mind. Glaring at the enemies in front of her, she tried to focus on fighting, fearing that her double would portray another show of mind-reading abilities. ”I don’t read minds.”

_Wha-?!_

“That’s what you’re thinking just now, right? Well, I don’t- but I know you well enough to correctly guess whatever’s comes up in your mind and other things~ Like how you pee in the shower, pick your nose whenever you watch movies and how you cried yourself to sleep after finding out that Souji’s-”

“GALACTIC PUUUNT!” A Burning Beetle flew towards the smirking double who easily dodged it with a quick swerve. _Damn. So close…_

“Oh my, someone’s getting worked up…” The girl laughed “You’re so set up on me, you’re not even paying close attention to what’s going around you…”

 _Around me?_ She swerved and froze.

Yukiko was on the floor. The knight’s gleaming lance was overhead as it prepared to thrust it on her. Chie’s world went slowmo as she turned to the boy for help but found him too far away from the two. The Avenger Knight seemed to smirk behind its helm as its lance started to fall to the downed girl. She desperately lunged to her best friend’s side, despite knowing that she’s too far away to reach her in time but tried she did.

“STIMULANT!” A cry that was not hers resounded in the field of clashing metals and Yukiko’s tired eyes opened. It may just be Chie’s tears, but she swore that a light shimmer enveloped her friend’s form as she rolled away from the lance’s lunge. Sighing in relief, she whispered a silent prayer as her friend shakily stood up. With most of the Shadows, the girls turned to where the shout came from and gasped. Even Yosuke spared a glance when he heard them, only to swear at what he saw. He was so preoccupied in staring that he almost missed a hit coming at him. Yosuke turned and enthusiastically minced his enemies to pieces.

The girls faced their foes once again. The change in their enemies’ demeanour was enough to make the Shadows nervous. It wasn’t just their way of fighting or how they all seemed to inch at the doorway that made them tremble—it was the smile in their faces. For the first time since they’ve arrived into the decimated world, they finally found a reason to smile in the form of a shrill voice echoing on top of them—instructing, cheering, pointing out weaknesses and openings and weird words accompanied with its owner throwing random things at them that made them shimmer and want to fight more. As they fought, they put down the urge to ask what the weird hocus pocus he has been spouting that helped them in various ways but saved the question for a later time.

“SOMA!”

Someday, a certain bear would tell stories about how one word gained him three friends for life… and a life-time supply of topsicles.

The battle is still hard fought though. With their welcome addition, came more swarms of Shadows. They have another goal now though, another objective that does not involve staying alive until help arrives. Their new objective is getting out of the Shadow world and then they will eat and sleep and maybe reward the bear a date with two very attractive Yasogami babes.

They were finally close enough to fight with their backs facing each other. The bear stood from one of the window sills, far from the black tarry ocean that seemed to reach out to him. How he made it up there can be anyone’s guess. Red flares and crashing whirls and kicks continued to dominate the floors and their confidence rose.

 They were finally out of the door when their eyes met the world once covered with fog is now covered with black litters and blotches of black. Suddenly, the idea of finishing off all the Shadows in the world was thrown out of the window. The friendly bear walked out of the window and reached out where he left the long ladder he used to reach the small opening but freezed. He grabbed air and slowly looked down to see the black tars that were reaching him a while ago grin at him from below, the fallen ladder beside them. Their long arms elongated mockingly in a gesture to catch him but what sharp teeth he glimpsed in the tars betrayed whatever sense of safety he felt.

“Clear them out! I need to touch the floor!”

“We can't! There's too many!” Yosuke’s deranged howl reached his ears and the bear knew that he was right. The three were already too occupied and though he could still provide support however far away he is from them, his supplies cannot last forever.

The team is on their wit’s end and in the middle of surviving and finding a way out, they forgot one important factor.

“If only I have a Persona too…” The sigh in the front doors was a sudden wakeup call. They swore as Chie visibly flinched at the voice that was hers “Then maybe I could make some REAL damage! But noooo, I need to be the helpless side-character who can only do kicks and punches… No character, no talent, no one to protect… especially Yukiko.”

This made the said girl stiffen as they continue to battle the Shadows. Chie made a conscious effort to pretend not catching the words while Yosuke tried to help both of the girls’ sides because of whatever emotional difficulty they are going through. Nobody needs a year to figure out just how much they meant with the other. They fought their battles as the Shadow continued to talk. “Yukiko’s so pretty. So nice and smart and beautiful… she’s perfect- everything that I’m not.”

“Chie…”

“I can’t do anything alone. I can’t win as a girl, let alone as a person… I’m pathetic. But Yukiko—she depends on me. That’s why she’s my friend, I’ll never loosen my grip on her… she’s too important to me”

“No! I- she- that's not true!”

As the Shadow Chie berated its counterpart, the bear rifled the clear Shadow world in search for a solution. The vast plains of Shadows seemed to stretch as far as his eye could see; barely catching the two portals that appeared minuscule compared to its surroundings residents. He could ask them to run for it but they are surrounded, not to mention is how he’s going to support them when they are distances apart.

He took a deep sniff to calm his nerves but instead caught whiff of a distinct and familiar scent and his eyes widened in recognition. He would know that smell anywhere. Not wanting to get his hopes up, his eyes searched the realm of Shadows and were able to glimpse a flash of light and smoke seeming to draw near them. With it came the breakdown of black spots and a smile from the bear’s lips.

* * *

  


_*Giggle* We’ll have to do that more often!_

Yukari won’t admit it but ever since the addition of the pervy but somewhat charming boy, the team became a lot closer. Aside from Junpei, Minako and occasionally Souji helped lighten the enigmatic dorm’s heavy atmosphere.

She shuddered as she remembered the first few days that felt like an eternity being alone with the President and the Boxer. It’s no wonder the Chairman came to be the joke-loving adult he is. She would endure his jokes any day than stay in the dead silent dorm alone with those two for a week. Their hospitality is not in question though and she appreciates what displays of kindness she received as a junior member but the years of battle and other difficulties hardened them into the people they are now. Despite all these, she believes that they are good people—even Mitsuru who she finds hard to trust is a good person at heart no matter how cold and reserved she may be.

The distance of the seniors, she could understand. What boggles her mind is Souji.

He is friendly enough but he maintains a certain aloofness that is different with the seniors- as though acting like he isn’t supposed to be there. From what she’s seen in Tartarus, he prefers to support the party than outright deal with the Shadows despite having the most powerful Persona out of all of them-including the ones the Arisatos can summon- which is saying something. There’s no way a Persona could become THAT powerful without at least a few years of practice and after hearing the twins’ story at the lounge regarding what happened to them 10 years ago in the Moonlight Bridge incident… she’s thoroughly convinced that Mitsuru’s not the only one hiding secrets from the group.

After a time of torturing a certain capped teen, Yukari roamed the dorm halls, searching for the gray-haired boy but found no trace of him. She caught sight of Minato and meekly asked the boy which room Souji’s staying.

If she were lucky, Minato would keep his mouth shut about this. She would rather not be caught entering his room in- She checked her watch- 12 minutes before midnight. So, like a thief, she made sure that the halls were empty before knocking at the door. Silence met her. She tried again but the second time she did, the door was set ajar. She’s not the type to intrude but without an obstruction, her eyes met the heavily restricted room of Souji Seta. Not even Mitsuru or the Chairman has achieved this feat. She knows, she was there when they were spying on the three. It wasn’t much of a surprise when Akihiko found the crumpled camera disposed in the trash bin the day after, visibly displayed for all to see- a clear message from the boy. That subject became an unspoken topic of conversation ever since.

She warily stepped inside, and was unsurprised to see its unfussy exterior. It was very plain with the expensive-looking flat-screen T.V. being the highlight of the room. She did not expect his shelf to be bombarded with robot models and hand-knitted dolls though. His standard desk has a pile of documents on top of it, colourful origami paper cranes littering the sides of the table- what they’re for, she does not know. She regarded the bed and found it heavily sprawled and empty. The absence of his Evoker and his weapon also piqued her interest and she wasn’t sure if she should be happy for getting blackmail material or not.

* * *

  


_If any of them suffers anything permanent, I swear I’m going to test the perpetuity of these things…_

Souji casted his third Sukukaja as he sprinted towards the red structure. After butchering some of the creatures single-handedly, many of the Shadows who came close to him flee in distress. A few others who didn’t get the message were either encased in ice or were melted like butter.

_“I dunno where he went but it looks like Yukiko-sempai and Chie-sempai went after im’ since they all left their bags in the room.”_

_“I guess they went straight home with the rain and all.”_

_DAMMIT!_

He’s been chewing himself out ever since remembering the importance of Kanji’s words. He texted Teddie to keep an eye out, yes but he didn’t even consider the possibility of the murder not relinquishing. Yukiko made it out alive and if the murder’s stubborn enough, there’s a possibility that he would throw her again. And with Yukiko’s Persona with her, what other way is better to kill her than throwing her at the very night of the fog? _Yosuke and Chie was dragged in too… TCH!_

He felt the excessive discharges of SP nearing and blearily heard a voice that resembled Chie’s.

“NOOOO SHUUUDDDUP!!! I’M- I’M NOT—!” Out of nowhere, her mouth was covered and stopped in confusion as the said hand shot a Bufula behind her where a Lying Heblerie got too close. Chie recognized the hands as that of a human’s and exclaimed when she turned. “SOUJI-KUN?!”

The name made the rest halt and glimpse in amazement, each of them breaking out into smiles and exclamations of their own to which Souji cut off as he joined their defence. “NOW’S NOT THE TIME! IS TED HERE?!”

“OVER HERE, SENSEIIIIIII!!!!” He looked up and saw him in one of the windows up in castle walls. What he was doing there, he had no idea but judging by the way he waved his arms and the cluster of Shadows in his would-be-descend, he knows he will have to get him down there. So he did the most logical thing: Kill everything that’s in the way.

With his sword at hand, he slashed and stabbed everything, pointedly ignoring Chie’s copy that was leaning on front doors’ side. Before Ted could land, he will have to ensure the other’s safety too though. So he joined his back with theirs first and slowly, they inched to where Ted needs to drop. Once they did, he screamed in top of his lungs “DO IT, TED!!!”

“CATCH ME, SENSEIIII~!!!!” The bear squealed, reminding Souji too much of the hard-core fan girls he had in middle school. Out of instinct, he avoided the bear causing Teddie to crash face-first to the now cracked cement. He helped the bear up and cringed when he saw his deflated stature, replacing the cute furry animal by a pitiable flattened mascot.

“S-sorry, Ted.”

“Shel’rite, Senshei” Teddie’s wheezed as he tried to bend and touch the ground. The others continued to defend the busy bear while Souji acted as a support. A few seconds later, a stack of T.Vs sprout out of the ground. “It’sh time, evryone~!”

Quickly, Souji pulled Yosuke and Yukiko out of the battlefield and into the stack of T.V.s causing them to yelp. He took their places in the fight and defended the portal as he urged the last two to go first. Teddie slipped and Chie was about to follow through when a certain black miasma covered the screen upon her touch. “S-Souji-kun, I can’t get out!”

 _HUH!?_ He summoned Clotho and blew the surrounding enemies as far as he could before grabbing Chie’s hand and move it to one of the T.V. screens. It wouldn’t go through. _She doesn’t have a Persona! She should be able to go through since I’m touching her so why isn’t she-?_

His thoughts were cut off by a loud _Tut Tut Tut._ He saw Shadow Chie stroll towards them, not minding the still dizzy Shadows on its wake. “She can’t go out- not while I’M here.”

“What do you mean?!”

“I’m a part of her, she can’t leave this world incomplete.” The Shadow turned to its counterpart with a solemn face “Well? How about it? Will you accept me now?”

“IN YOUR DREAMS-! I-You’re not-!” Before Chie could utter the words, Souji had an idea and pulled out his Evoker. _The ones from S.E.E.S. never got to face their Shadow selves and yet they could still summon them. This Shadow is Chie’s Persona. If the Shadow were to be shot by an Evoker, then maybe-!_

 _“Shadows and Personas are two beings of the same coin-”_ He recalled Igor’s lessons to him when he was a child. _Two beings of the same coin…_

He pointed the gun to the Shadow and pulled the trigger. He waited for the familiar sound of breaking glass but heard nothing but the soft groaning of the waking Shadows. Any second now and the clock will strike 12. If it does and the two of them are still in there then-!

_“-With the right environment, Shadows could roam while they could transform in the right circumstances. Shadows however, can only reach its full potential only when its owner is in the same environment as it because it draws power from its Master, feeding from its Master’s refusal to accept makes it stronger. And in turn, the Master may also only reach his full potential only if he accepts his Shadow self, turning the Shadow into a Persona. From then on, the Shadow-turned-Persona would gain power from its owner’s strength of heart instead of its cowardice. Do you see now, young one? The coin and the Master are one. They complete each other. And us, Masters of our Shadows- hold their heart, their most important piece- the piece that allows them to turn into Shadows and Personas.”_

“-YOU’RE NOT ME!!!” He was shook out of his thoughts by the scream a sitting Chie delivered. _Too late… maybe with enough time I could still-_ He checked his self-wound up watch and froze. 26 seconds before midnight. _Nope, no time to kill this thing._

He recalled once again the old man’s words and came up with a conclusion that made him nauseous. This is a dick move but-

“Chie…” He dropped to his knees and bent eye-level to the young woman, catching her attention away from the slowly transforming Shadow Boss. Its howling mixed the groaning of the recovering Shadows from before.

“Y-yes?” He slid his gun away from the Shadow and into her hand. Her breathing stopped as he directed her hand to point the barrel of the gun at the space between her chin and her throat.

“If you trust me then pull the trigger. If you don’t then we die. You have 20 seconds.” He watched her irises shrink and Chie break into an even colder sweat than before.

All she heard was her Shadow’s laughter and the slight clutter of the shaking gun that would without a doubt slip from her hand if it weren’t for Souji’s tight grip. Her heart thumped so hard, it hurt and she was sure that he could hear it too. In a whim, she recalled each and every memory she had with Souji- the joys and the pains and the ‘training’ she forced him to join. The portal’s just right beside them and he could leave her to die if he wants to but he didn’t. Her eyes shifted to his watch. 10 seconds

“Chie” Hazel eyes met gray.

She found herself getting lost in his deep gray eyes, drowning from the comfort his proximity emitted, almost filling up the moments she longed for him while he is away from Inaba. She’s spent 5 years together with this man and if he’s saying that the only way they could survive this encounter is by shooting herself in the head then…

“Do you trust me?”

_Ahhh… Fuck it._

She pulled the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone’s wondering how Souji knew where in the T.V. world they were, it’s because of his ‘detecting’ abilities. Please refer to Chapter 8 wherein he felt the Shadows in their first visit in Tartarus.


	11. Unexpected People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nana-chan, a date and people that are not supposed to be here.

“Why aren’t they coming out?! Do something, Ted!”

“I am! I'm trying but something's blocking me!” The bear exclaimed as he frantically stroked the T.V. screen, trying to figure out what’s going on. The department store’s clock is ticking away and the thick fog outside is making the bear shiver. Midnight after rainy days is always the time when the Shadows go all out. It’s the time they are have the strongest connections with their owners and then suddenly, they don’t get to be black tars anymore. There is nothing a good cave can’t hide but when worse comes to worst, well, let’s just say that he’s thankful for being benefited the same effects.

His Sensei is strong and he could probably survive the 60 seconds but could Chie, the one without a Persona can? That’s what worries them most.

The clock is ticking away and he doesn’t know how many seconds they’ve got left- he doesn’t want to know but he was eventually answered by a loud static noise. The Midnight Channel was on.

And they helplessly watched what little they can as the split seconds of the other side was shown. They were fighting and then they were kneeling in front of the other but the biggest shock was how they spotted a silver of light directed at Chie’s head. It was a vague image but Yukiko knew what she saw.

“CHIE!”

A split second later sent her screaming at the T.V.’s screen, almost breaking it with the way she held it with so much force. Yosuke and Teddie were forced to pry her off as gently as they can but even they felt a chill ran down their spines as a loud bang resounded.

They froze from the implication and for a split second, all they saw was white and then a slumped Chie. They heard a roar and caught a silhouette of a tall being of yellow and black. The image of Souji carrying Chie showed and the tall silhouette loomed over them. The next image was of the tall creature disappearing followed by a solid black screen.

The screen rippled.

Gray hairs appeared first, then light brown hair, a white shirt, a green jacket, a skirt, black sweatpants…

Yukiko, taking advantage of the distraction surged forward, expecting a hole in her best friend’s head but cried out in relief when she found none.

“Oh God, Chie, I thought I lost you…”

Souji sprawled on the floor and attempted to stable the unconscious girl in his arms, signalling Teddie as Yukiko doled out in relief and Yosuke zoning out as he stared at Chie’s prone form, still finding it hard to believe that they were able to escape the hellish world.

“Sensei, I only have Snuff Souls left, no more Royal Jellies and Stimulants.”

“That’s fine, Ted.” At Souji’s signal, Teddie made his hocus pocus and threw the tiny Snuff Soul ball in the air which dispersed at Chie’s direction. Chie’s respiratory improved eventually, much to their relief. He pulled out another ball but with a different colour. “How about a Balm of Life?”

“We’ll carry her back. No use waking her up in this condition.”

“Alrighty, Sensei.”

“You two…” He turned to the others “Can you walk or do you want me to carry you too?”

“Nah, I’m good”, “I-I can walk…”

“I’ll walk you nonetheless. Ted, you know the drill.”

“Aye aye, Sensei!” The bear costume zipped out, revealing a blonde teenager, thankfully clothed and assisted the two’s side while Souji carried Chie bridal style. He grabbed bottles of water from the shelves and handed them over to his friends, taking note of how much he would have to pay Yosuke at a later time.

“S’no problem, partner. Just explain everything to us after we’re all rested up, okay?” Yosuke waved as he walked to a portion of Junes where his family is staying, leaving the three.

They were too tired to speak as they walked home, with Yukiko practically dragging her feet in the pavement despite Teddie’s assistance. Souji squinted amidst the still thick fog and upon reaching the Satonaka Residence, climbing up to the second story window where Chie’s room is. With Chie’s condition, an explanation to her family would be a must and really, he has no idea on how to explain anything to them right now. He was about to leave when he spotted a sticky note and eventually decided to leave a message.

_‘Call me when you wake up –SS_

_P.S. No, it was not a dream.’_

Next was the Amagi Inn which was a little ways away. They rode the bus and the girl fell asleep, leaving Souji to carry her but eventually had to wake her upon spotting a few of her house helpers roaming outside the residence. “Rest up, Yuki-chan!”

“Yeah, you too Teddie.” He nodded courteously and turned to leave but paused upon hearing his name “Souji?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry…” He scoffed

“What? Why are you apologizing for? Yukiko, it’s not your fault the murderer threw you in again. You couldn’t have known!”

“Murderer? Um-no, it- it wasn’t the murderer.” _Huh?_ “It was me. Chie and I were chasing after Yosuke-kun but then we couldn’t break and we all toppled over but we were all touching so-”

“Whoa! Whoa! Let me get this straight…” He rubbed the bridge of his nose “The murderer DIDN’T push you in…?”

She shuffled meekly “nobody did”

“It was all an accident…”

She nodded, afraid to meet his eyes “yes”

He sighed tiredly with Teddie at his side, still all smiles “Well, at least the murderer’s nice enough to leave the rescued ones alone!”

“I guess that’s alright. It was all an accident and it already happened. We can’t do anything about it now, Yukiko. Just forget about it. I’m sure the other two wouldn’t blame you for anything.”

“But I was the one with the-!”

“-And I was late in rescuing all of you! I’M the one who’s supposed to watch over you and yet I…Don’t think too much about this. It’s okay. We’re all at fault, in a way. That makes us even, right?” He heard light footsteps coming their way and quickly grabbed Ted as he rushed to leave, muttering a silent goodbye to the girl currently being fussed over by the inn keepers.

“ _Phew!_ That was a really close call huh, Sensei?”

“Yeah…” They dropped off from the bus, noticing the fog in the streets beginning to fade, much to their relief. “You really did it this time, Ted. You’re the man.”

“Aww shucks, Sensei. S’nothin! Anyway, with Yosuke and Chie as additions, Persona-users are rising up. Should we ask for their help?”

“I’m still not sure. They’re my friends and I would rather that they don’t get involved in this mess but for them to make it this far, I don’t think there’s any way to back out. And Chie’s not one of us, by the way.”

“She’s not!? But you defeated her Shadow, didn’t you? We saw you with a gun but it was on Chie-chan’s head and then her Shadow shrieked and-”

“No, we… we stopped the transformation.” Souji grimaced, recalling how he pressured the girl. He pulled out his Evoker, showing it to the bear as they walked. “Y’know our theory about how one can only access their Persona if they accepted their true selves? This is the solution to that.”

The blonde’s eyes twinkled as the mechanism was carefully handed over to him “I dunno what this is but I’m getting sttrraaannnggee readings from it. Not to mention it smells funny! Where did you get this, Sensei?”

“S.E.E.S. They’re using it during the Dark Hour and can summon theirs by shooting themselves in the head with it.”

“SH-SHOOTING THEMSELVES IN THE HEAD!?”

“Yeah, I know but I’m telling you, it works, Ted.” His hands slightly trembled upon recalling his first summon with an Evoker “It’s how we got out. Chie… she-”

ooo

_She pulled the trigger._

_A loud shatter of glass resounded but it did not come from her. It came from the Shadow and they stared at the shrieking form as it clutched its head in agony as though trying to keep its pieces in place but failing as glass like fragments fell, prominently in its neck and chin, the very same place where Chie shot herself. The Shadow began to flicker from being its owner’s doppelganger to the full blown Shadow Boss to the vague image of a warrior clad in yellow, presumably her Persona._

_Chie collapsed in his arms feeling her other self’s anguish. She lurched, grabbing hold of whatever’s in sight while he helplessly held her, not knowing what to do._

_He heard a clock’s tick, signalling midnight. Following the sound was a ringing of a bell he could not see. The fog fully lifted, revealing bland landscapes and still rivers, dead trees and a murky sky. It was devoid of life save for the Shadows who transformed along with their world. They roared, revived, transformed into full power. It was not his first time being inside the Shadow World without fog. The newly transformed Shadows loomed to them and caught a few of them starting to cast spells. He wants to dodge despite knowing that he would be too slow with Chie in his arms. Instead, he backed away and shielded the weak girl with his body. He heard the starting spell of a Bufudyne and changed his Persona to Siegfield. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact._

_But none came._

_He turned to see the flickering Shadow looming over them. Despite its weak condition, it stood tall and proud as though daring them to harm Souji and its Master._

_It did not last though and it fell on its knees, slowly fading in wisps of smoke. It heaved at the same pace as Chie and turned to face her. He felt Chie stir to take a better look at the fallen Shadow. Ignoring the advancing enemies, they gazed at the other and it may have just been his imagination but he thought the Shadow’s mouth curled upwards a bit as it raised a hand to the two of them. He backed away in fear of getting attacked but felt Chie’s grip in his arm tighten. The weak girl’s smile caught him off guard and later found themselves getting pushed by the gigantic hand …and into the T.V. behind him._

* * *

  


“So that’s what happened.”

“ _Sigh_ It was horrible…” They were in Junes now and with it being past midnight, they were dead tired. “How her Shadow helped us in the end was still strange though. I’ve never encountered a Shadow being so helpful without being accepted.”

“Maybe that’s why it helped.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe Chie already came to accept her Shadow even though she didn’t voiced it out.” He paused, thinking how much sense that makes.

“Hmm… Maybe-”

“FREEZE!” They froze and put their hands up instinctively, turning around where they were met by a flashlight’s blinding light.

“W-we didn’t do anything wrong!”

“We’re innocents!”

“…Souji?” The boy blinked at the sound of his name and he squinted to make out the man in front.

“…Uncle.”

* * *

  


“You came back at a bad time, Souji. With you in Iwatodai, you probably don’t know what’s been going on in here.” He let his uncle fill him up with the murders as the older man made coffee. Souji smiled as he reached his mug filled with Dojima’s surprise specialty. It’s only been a few weeks but it felt like he’s been away for years. The urge to barge in his little cousin’s room and hug the shit out of her is strong but with Dojima present, he might not even reach the door. “I can only inform you what they say on television but let me tell you, it’s been a major headache all over. If some other officer got you a while ago, I would be picking you up from an interrogation right about now. So what are you doing here?”

“Like I said, visiting. Plus, I have to pick some of my things up. You know how abrupt I left.”

“Oh speaking of your things...” He nervously cleared his throat “Y’know about that T.V. you bought? It-”

“- was stolen along with some of my other stuff. Yeah, I know. Nanako told me.” Souji waved it off nonchalantly “I’ll just buy a new one. No worries.”

Dojima didn’t know whether he would be relieved because he won’t have to pay him or insulted because the kid’s probably making more in part time jobs than him with a full-time one. _I wonder if they accept people in their 30’s or just students…_

“Daddy?” A small voice asked in the corner and a smiling Souji placed his mug down upon hearing the sudden hitch from the small girl “BIG BRO!”

Souji internally swore when he saw how Nanako jump him in a blink of an eye. A series of ‘Big Bro’s came booming out of the child’s mouth causing her father to chuckle at the sight of his daughter squeezing the life out of her elder cousin. “C-can’t breath… Nanako…”

It was only when Dojima saw Souji’s colour draining that he decided to intercept the two. “Now now, Nanako. It’s late and you still have school tomorrow.”

“But big bro’s-!” She started but was cut off when a gentle hand pulled her towards the bedroom. Souji smiled at her gently.

“Come on, Nanako. It’s way past your bed time.” The girl still insisted that she stay up which caused the boy to pull out his trump card. “I’ll read to you until you fall asleep, okay?”

The girl stopped resisting then but let out a small sob a bit after “But you’ll leave right after…”

His hold on her tightened “That’s why I’m going to spend every second I have left here with you.”

That night, it was the storyteller that fell asleep first.

And then it was morning and with his bag, he tiptoed. He has successfully finished making breakfast and a packed lunch for his favourite girl but before he leaves, decided to make a stop to the said girl’s room to take one last peak. It was a scene he will miss dearly for a very long time. “Leaving already?”

A Dojima in a white shirt and boxers yawned across the hall. “You should let Nanako see you off at least. You have no idea how much her heart broke when she heard that her Big Bro’s moving away.”

He shook his head, a sad smile playing across his lips “If she begs me one more time to stay here with her with that ‘kicked puppy’ look of hers, I’ll have to file a transfer notice to Gekkoukan.” He walked away after he closed the door and made way downstairs with Dojima behind him. “I’ve already prepared breakfast in case you’re hungry.”

Dojima’s stomach growled loudly at the mention of food prepared by his nephew and he flushed when Souji sniggered, catching the low growl. “Yeah, thanks” Souji was already on the front door when Dojima cleared his throat. “Y’know Golden Week’s around the corner and- well I’m thinking that we could go somewhere for a change and you could come with?”

The teenager smiled at the man, mulling about how much Dojima changed since his first day in Inaba. He remembered how he used to compare him with his own parents- with his irresponsibility and reluctance to let go of the past. It took Souji a few months before snapping at the old man to ‘grow a pair’. He was grounded of course but the way Dojima began to spend more time with his daughter made it all worth it. “I’d love that. Nanako would too, I bet.”

* * *

  


“Don’t think I don’t see you there, Iori. One more peek and you’re out!”

“Eep!”

It was the first day of their week long test and everyone’s pretty edgy except for the three newly transferred students who have finished their one-hour test in no more than 27 minutes. They are not allowed to leave without letting the others finish though so Minato slept(as always), Minako twirled her pen while Souji disassemble his, taking apart his device and putting it back together to see how many times he can do it until the bell signals. He was on his 24th round when the familiar dings came out of the speakers. This is how close Yukari Takeba has been observing the boy ever since a few nights ago. She hasn’t seen anything out of the ordinary so far.

Souji said his farewells abruptly, saying that he has something to do. Eager to follow, she quickly packed her things and pulled her pack. “-taaan! Hey, Yuka-taaannn!”

She jumped upon seeing Junpei’s face too close for comfort “Kyaa! Get your stupid mug away from me. What the hell, Stupei?”

“Geez… so touchy. What’s up, Yuka-tan? You’ve been looking spaced for a while.”

“Oh uh- it’s nothing.” Junpei made a smug and knowing smirk

“Oh pleeeaasse, you’re so obvious! You think I didn’t notice how you’ve been looking at Souji?” _Huh?_ “You can’t take your eyes away from him! And here I thought you had a thing for Minato…”

She flushed madly, almost forgetting about her would-be investigation “What!? NO! I’ve never-!” She clamped her mouth shut, knowing his words have a certain amount of truth to them. She HAS been looking at Souji and maybe she DOES have a teeny winy _thing_ for Minato but—she was about to make another attempt for a retort but was interrupted when he pulled her out, his own bag now in his shoulders.

“You wanna follow him, right?” He grinned mischievously “Well, come on!”

* * *

  


 “What walks with 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs at noon and 3 legs in the evening?”

“Um… a human?”

“Bzzt wrong! The answer’s a ‘Slime’ … y’know, because they can grow limbs. Really Theo, you know well that humans only have 2 legs. Now what’s long, has two round thingies at each side and gets hard when angry?” A single syllable passed by the man’s lips before Elizabeth cut him off, saving the story from being M-Rated. “Mara! The answer’s Mara!”

Margaret shook her head once again at the twin’s antics. Igor’s doing business with Master Philemon again, leaving them with no guest to attend to. It has been a while since one of their Masters visited and the boredom is slowly eating her siblings up, driving the eldest sister slightly insane. She might as well do her job while _he’s_ gone. Margaret felt the book at her lap tingle as a name slowly engraved on itself. At the very bottom of the cover etched a name—her guest’s name in bold white fonts. She opened the book to find images of _his_ Personas. Each one of them dominates a page with their history, special skills, how much it’s grown, how much more it needs to attain certain skills, what Persona fusion they were formed from and the number of times each of them were used. She reviewed them one by one just to make sure nothing’s out of the ordinary when the veils shifted.

Sensing the shift, Elizabeth and Theodore immediately left the part of the Room to provide adequate privacy for a business transaction, knowing their eldest sister’s preferences especially when her precious Master is included. Margaret looked up in pleasant surprise to see the owner of the Le Grimoire she was coincidently holding. It has been a while since they last met and though she would usually entertain him as a good friend, she reminded herself that he has just set sail in his Journey and will need the help she unfortunately cannot give without Igor. “I apologize but Master is currently away. I am afraid that you must return in another ti-”

_There is no such thing as accidents. Everything happens for a reason._

She shook her head, reminded of the words Igor imparts to her from time to time and wonders if he has expected this to happen. She was about to impart the same words to him but found him advancing towards the sit at her side, grabbing a glass and pouring himself a drink from one of the wine bottles.

“Just wondering if it’s real or not.” He downed its contents but frowned when it reached his tongue. “Soda”

Margaret couldn’t help but smile, amused by the minor’s ‘attack’ and immediate downfall. “Did you really think I would let you do something illicit under MY supervision?”

“It’s MY version of the Velvet Room. I think I’m entitled to whatever’s in it especially if it comes with free drinks.” He smiled “Hey Marge. Sup?”

“With the most recent incident, I believe you need to be asked that very same question more so.” She raised an unimpressed eyebrow “Sup?”

The guest slumped on the seat, sighing exhaustedly. A smile still lingered in his lips though. It’s been a while since he spent some alone time with his good friend and he will not spoil that for the world. “Yeah. I screwed up big time, huh?” His eyes travelled to one of the limos’ windows, a way to see the outside world. It revealed a picture of the still recovering bodies he almost failed to save just a few nights ago. “That was a close call…”

“It was” She nodded then turned to meet his eyes “But now you have the experience of failing. I expect that you don’t make the same mistake again. Remember: Lives are at stake.”

“Yeah, I’ll be more careful. By the way…” He looked around “Where are the others? More importantly, where’s Igor?”

“He is with Master Philemon. As for the twins…” She looked around, as if watching things Souji could not- which isn’t really a hard thing to believe considering the way her eyes glowed just a little bit brighter as she did so. There was a threatening glint in those eyes. As for why it would have such, he does not know. He wasn’t sure he wants to know. “They know their place.” She waved it off “Since you are here, I would like to remind you of the ‘goods’ you need to deliver… as payment for our delivery.”

“Argh… do I really have to?”

“You’ve always found some way to acquire our requested goods.”

He clutched his head in an attempt to block away Margaret’s teasing chortle. He peeked nervously, knowing he could not possibly turn away the siblings’ request without some sort of punishment. Margaret blinked in confusion at the look Souji gave her. She couldn’t quite place a finger at the look but she can tell that it was different than usual. “This is for the Velvet Room, right?”

More confused, the woman hesitantly nodded.

“Then… in some way… this is your duty too, right?”

 _Where is he going with this?_ “I… suppose.”

Making up his mind, he straightened up “Will you accompany me then?”

She heard but she could not process. It was as though her brain suddenly decided to crawl like a half dead sloth. _Accompany? Why would he need a company for buying clothes?_

**_But it sounds fun_ **

_No, I can’t abandon my duties here in the Velvet Room. I am the eldest of the three attendants, I must serve as a model for my siblings…_

**_But this is Souji we’re talking about…_** She blinked at the unexpected thought. _Where did that come from?_ _Why did I-?_

She noticed Souji’s anticipation for her answer and inwardly scolded herself for even considering such an offer. “I’m sorry, Souji-kun but my duties as an attendant-”

“-CAN WAIT.” _Huh?_ She turned to see the other seats occupied with the two other attendants with Souji seeming to have jumped at the intrusion. Elizabeth clicked her tongue in annoyance while her twin brother smiled warmly “Seriously, Sis! Leave the Velvet Room to us, we’ll take care of it while you’re away!”

“What? But Master Igor is-”

“-UNDERSTANDING! Besides, Theo and I have been doing our fair share of fun with our guests too. It’s only fair that you get to play in the human world with Souji, as well!”

“You what-?!” She whirled her head to Souji for confirmation but he simply shrugged in ignorance. To answer her question, Theo quipped.

“It’s true! We’ve been going on what Master Minako call ‘dates’! You should definitely try the arcade, dear sister…” Theo touched her arm as an assurance “Do not worry yourself too much. Out of all of us, you’ve been working the most. If there’s anybody who needs a break, it would be you.” He turned to Souji when Elizabeth took over and grabbed her older sister by the shoulder

“We’ll take care of things in here…” A mischievous smile crept in Elizabeth’s lips and Margaret knew she was too late when she felt the limo’s door at her back. “Have fun!”

She was pushed out with Souji, pushed away by Theo’s strong arms, not far behind. She was about to return inside, ready for a tongue lashing but heard an audible click at the other side. They locked the door. She was reduced to giving the unmoving door a seething glare but not before helping her guest up from the pavement. The said guest nursed his behind “They do know we have a key, right?”

“They will get what’s coming to them, I will _personally_ make sure of that.”

He felt an unnatural shiver in the air that vaguely reminded him of another Empress’ execution to a certain Junpei Iori. He noted to himself to never test an Empress’ anger. _On the bright side…_

“Well, since we’re here, why don’t you accompany me anyway?”

Margaret did not look away from the door for a few moments before nodding in surrender. As they walked side by side away from the Door’s luminous light, he tried hard not to be bothered with her aloofness but the farther away they paced, the more the earlier glint in her eyes returned. That and all he could think about was how numb his mouth felt at the moment.

* * *

  


It was a rush hour in the district mall and it was brimming with people of different ages. In the middle of it, a pair of teenagers was not-so-subtly hiding behind a telephone booth. The people stared as they passed, with the particularly older ones murmuring how crazy youngsters these days act compared to their own generation. The girl in the said pair irked “NOT. WORKING.”

“Ssshhhh! Not so loud, Yuka-tan!” The boy hissed with a finger on his lip. It has already been a few minutes since Souji entered the dark alley and they’re getting restless. “We should be patient and stay put. We dunno when he might come out.”

“Oh please, Stupei. There’s NOTHING in that alley. Do you really think anybody would stay there for this long in there? I bet he’s already in the dorms now, laughing his ass off cuz he managed to get away.”

“And I bet that he’s with someone in there doing you-know-what! …kehehe” His attention was caught by Yukari’s widening eyes who pointed at the direction of the dark alley. Junpei turned.

And there she was. The most downright gorgeous woman he has ever laid their eyes on. Tied golden curls, figure to die for, flawless creamy skin and eyes that would pierce the soul. She carries herself with poise and dignity, mesmerizing young and old without having to overdress. Gay men went straight and women turned lesbians at the sight of her. But the most shocking thing about the scene was not the woman herself but the person beside her. Yukari murmured “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if that’s the person he’s been doing you-know-what with in that alley, I’d probably live in the damn thing.”

“I’d buy the property.” Junpei muttered dreamily, pulling out a phone to take a picture, taking several shots without bothering to check if it’s good or not. She’s Beauty with legs and nobody could pull their eyes away from her. “I can’t believe he’s hiding something like this from us. I feel so betrayed…”

“I think anybody would hide something like this, if they can. They walk close enough to let you know that they’re accompanying each other but far enough to make you wonder about their relationship. What do you think, Stupei?”

“Acquaintances at most. At the very least, I’m willing to bet that Souji’s playing tour guide for a foreigner.” They caught Souji’s voice blearily: ’…Aaand this is Paulownia mall-’ “Told ya’. There’s no way. Absolutely, no way Souji could make a move on a hot babe like that before this hot stuff right here!”

A series of shameless self-complimenting left him yapping while Yukari abandoned him to follow Souji and the mysterious woman. A moment later, she heard the capped teen breathing hard as she sneaked. “That was mean, Yuka-tan! You shouldn’t have left like that!”

“Shh! I’m trying to listen to their conversation.”

‘-at reminds me, have you met your old guardian yet? The scientist who worked for the Kirijos?’ Upon hearing the words, Yukari’s heart leapt. _Gotcha._

‘I haven’t. I’ve been searching but I don’t know where t-.’ Souji paused half-way, suddenly brightening up ‘You don’t happen to know any antique shops around here, do you?’

‘I do not live here.’ She deadpanned

Souji scoffed ‘You live right over _there-_ like literally, over _there._ Ahh alright, I’ll just ask the others… Hey, I just remembered something. Come on.’

They started to move, the two sneaky teenagers at their heels. Souji and the woman appear to be having a great time with the boy doing most of the talking and the woman sneaking glances around the place. It was obvious that she’s new in town but the way her eyes sparkle at certain points in their walk made the followers curious as to how new the woman is.

“They address each other so casually… maybe Souji’s NOT playing tour guide, after all. I guess she’s an old friend, considering he used to live here when he and the twins were just kids.” Junpei addressed, a hint of envy making way to his voice but was replaced by a sense of realization “If that’s so then… this is a reunion, right? It’s a-a date then?!”

“A date, huh? Well, Souji-kun isn’t so bad a guy. It wouldn’t be surprising if he managed to get a date. You should take notes, Junpei. Y’know, in case you were to become the last guy on Earth and manage to get one…”

“Already working on it!” Junpei exclaimed as he readied a pen and note. He eagerly wondered what kind of fancy restaurant Souji’s taking the woman when he spotted the guy—walking straight over the Police Station.

* * *

  


 

“ _*Whistle*_ These are some specific measurements you got here…You do know that this is a Police Station, right?”

“Yep”

“And there are probably like a hundred shops in this mall where you could most likely find such specific clothing, right?”

“Yep”

“And that I should ask you how you got these women’s measurements without breaking the law, righ-?”

“Thank you. I’ll be going now.” The teenager swiped the list from Kurosawa before hastily exiting the Station . He sighed dejectedly, checking the ‘payment’ for the Velvet Room’s delivery service.

“No luck?” His companion asked and was replayed by a dejected sigh “Well, what he said is true. If you’re looking for clothing, you will have a much better chance at finding some in a clothing store.”

“Let’s go then…” Margaret wasn’t so sure what happened next. At first, they were searching for the right sizes and the perfect styles but all of a sudden, she found herself being treated to takoyaki. She stared at her meal in front, sceptically “How did we end up in here again?”

“Mm? Whmdya mn?”

“We were searching for clothes were we not?”

“ _*Gulp*_ Yeah, but we couldn’t find anything that would match them then I got hungry so-uh-”

“-we ended up eating takoyaki.”

“Yep”

“You’ve been saying that word a lot lately…”

“Yep” He was replied with the impassive woman thrusting her takoyaki’s stick into the wooden bench they were sitting on. It went straight through and Souji wasn’t sure if he should be surprised or not. He blearily heard the takoyaki-lady’s chuckles from behind his back and heard her mutters about ‘making women angry’ or something. As though nothing’s happened, the woman picked up a new stick from the counter and proceeded chewing the remains of her meal. “By the way, are you aware that two of your friends have been following us for the past few hours? Do you have any idea why?”

He smiled, amused as he heard the two stalkers’ hitches of breath. “Yeah, I know. As for why, well I guess it’s because I’m with you. Yukari-san probably came to have something to gossip about or something and Junpei… well, he’s a real perv.”

“Yes, I know. I can feel him ogling at me. Please do make sure to keep him in a leash next time.”

“Will do.”

“Also, I would like to inform you something about your Social Links.”

He blinked. _Now_ , she’s got his attention. “What about them?”

“I would like to inform you that the Fool Arcana of your Social Link has been awakened. Congratulations.”

“Wha- Really?! Who is it?”

“No one in particular. Unlike other social links, the Fool Arcana only progresses along with your Journey, much like the Judgement Arcana.”

“Alright… I’ve maxed out everything except those two anndd leseee… Lovers and Fortune Arcana, right? If I’m not mistaken, Yukari-san’s Arcana is Lovers and there’s this dude in Gekkoukan who’s a Fortune so I’ll just get closer to them and-”

“That won’t work.”

“What? Why not?”

“You may only form social links with those who are a part of your Journey. Trying to form a social link with anybody who isn’t supposed to be a part of your Journey would not work. It’s like trying to form a bond with someone of the Empress Arcana despite having a social link with another of the same Arcana already maxed out…” She blinked in confusion. _Wow I sounded a lot like a jealous girlfriend just now._

“Wow Marge, you sounded a lot like a jealous girlfriend just now.” He laughed merrily, unbothered by the evil look she’s sending his way. Trying to change the subject and to save herself from the embarrassment, she cleared out her throat.

“We should come up with a new plan then, don’t you think?”

“Ye- Uh I-I mean yes… Yes, ma’am.”

Margaret smiled “Good, boy.” She pulled out her own copy of the list “Now think, how are we going to get such specific clothing?”

“By buying them in stores…?”

“Yes but that plan failed. Where else can we get clothes?”

“I dunno… the Dry Cleaning, maybe?”

“ _*Sigh*_ Come on, Souji-kun you’re better at this. Think, you were given exact measurements with exact styles and designs. You have already concluded that the measurements you received belong to the members of S.E.E.S. Now tell me, where can we find clothes with their measurements?”

Souji’s face was a blank for a few moments but it slowly changed into that one of apprehension, horror, incredulous and reluctance in that order. His face turned pale and he cradled his head with both hands, trying to block out Margaret’s chortles. “No way… no freaking way, Marge.” He managed to pull his hands down, turning to his friend pleadingly “There are women and I-I’m a gentleman. I can’t do something like that!”

“Oh is that so? _*Sigh*_ Oh well, I shall make sure to inform my dearest sister of your failure to comply with the-” She started to stand but was pulled down by a more ashen faced boy.

“NO! N-no, please don’t tell Lizbeth…” He begged as he sweated profusely at the thought of the other sister. He has been with the siblings for the past 10 years and he has seen everything Elizabeth has to offer and more. He is a testament to that. Theodore is a testament to that. “P-p-please Elizabeth will do things to me! BAD THINGS! _EVIL_ THINGS!”

“You will follow through with the delivery then?”

“YES!”

“Good.” She returned to her seat with a more conceded Souji at her side “You can’t always rely on stores, Souji-kun…”

“That wasn’t a store. That was a Police Station.”

“You know that’s not what I meant…”

“ _*Sigh*_ I know, it’s just… he reminds me so much of that old man in Inaba selling wicked wares and-”

Suddenly, they heard a gruff voice behind their backs “Who reminds you of me?”

Expecting the intrusion, Margaret smiled, amused by the boy’s jerk at the interruption and how he stared wide eyed at the man behind.

* * *

  


A middle aged man in an expensive suit gazed at the vast ocean of structures with his uncovered eye. He took the tobacco in between his teeth and released the pent up smoke. It was a gift and a responsibility, a legacy and a curse, one that he inherited from his father, one that his daughter insists on being burdened with. Behind the peaceful surface of Port Island lies a great threat, one that he helped create before and now, he will help turn the wheels towards its destruction.

“I would like to thank you again for your service.” He addressed his red-head scar faced companion. “If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have half the data about Shadow materials that we have now.”

“As long as they will help in finishing those monsters then it’s no problem. B’sides… they were only handed to me. I only helped deliver the goods.”

“Of course, I shall also express my gratitude to the boy.”

“Oh yeah, speaking of the kid…” The red-head smirked “I bumped into him when I was heading here. He wasn’t alone and let me tell ye’ that kid has GREAT taste on women…”

“Oh? How disappointing…” He muttered regrettably “And here I thought he would make a great son-in-law…”

“Wahahaha! The kid and the Kirijo empress?! Now that’s something to see!” He bellowed and gradually ended it with a chuckle. The man in suit grabbed a cigar and gestured it to his companion.

“A little fancy for my tastes but… Sure, whatever.” The eye patched gentleman chopped the cigar’s end, lit it and handed it to his companion. “Old Lady Shiroku says hello, by the way. She says she would love to give you a kiss but she’s down with a fever.”

“T-Tell the Lady I said thank you.” The gentleman shuddered. “I hope she still retains a stock of Somas?”

“Yup, I dropped by there before heading here and she still doesn’t seem to have any problems with the stocks. So… how’s the Shadow levels in Inaba?”

“That’s actually one of the reasons why I asked you to come. Ever since the boy’s departure- or rather, a day or two after his departure, the Shadow levels have become erratic.”

“Two bodies right after he left? Tch. No kidding. So what? We need the kid to go back, is that it?”

“No, no that won’t work. Although the boy’s past exterminations contributed in the reduction of Shadow activity for the past few years, the source of the current disturbances does not seem to be because of the Shadows themselves. Shadows are the ones that took their lives directly but in order for them to go through to that world in the first place, they would need a bridge- a Persona-user.”

“Hey hey the brat’s strong but he’s not the type to pull stupid stunts like this!”

 He suppressed a sigh _“_ I wasn’t talking about him, what I meant to say is that if we’re talking about Persona-users then we already have a definite edge since we’ve been keeping an eye on them in the first place. Aside from the boy, S.E.E.S is highly unlikely. There are also the Anti-Shadow Suppressant Weapons which are mostly offline and lastly, Strega… I would say that they’re the ones behind it all but unusually, according to our lookout, those four have never even left Port Island.”

“Wait wait… _four_? I thought there’s only three of those bastards…”

“Ah yes… Apparently, they have a new member.” The gentleman pulled out a small picture and handed it to his companion. The redhead inspected it begrudgingly.

“Those eyes… and that scar just like mine…” The man returned the picture to the other “They’re glowing.”

“It’s an effect of Plume of Dusk… what happened 10 years ago destroyed many lives… some we don’t even know about. This boy in the picture is one of them.” He put out the light of his cigar “We’ve been searching for him in our documents but found nothing.”

“Nothing? Not even a name?”

“As I said, nothing. As for his name, our lookout reported that he goes by the name-“ They were interrupted by a sharp rap in the door. “Ah, she’s here it seems…”

“Wha- who?”

“The other reason why I called you here. We have a new member.” He opened the door revealing a woman in her 40’s wearing Chinese fitted clothing. Her eyeglasses barely hang on the bridge of her nose and her wavy gray hair is put up on a tight, neat bun. The eye patched man smiled warmly at the woman. “- Or should I say a comeback?”

The woman stepped further in, inspecting the room she replied. “Nah, not really. We have different goals now from 10 years ago, Takeharu”

The scarred man bowed to the newcomer in greeting “The name’s Daidara. I’m in charge of providing this fella some raw materials from Shadow remains. I also forge weapons, armour and accessories in Inaba. You are?”

“Ichikawa Shinou, Biochemist, ex-Shadow researcher, one of the scientists of the Ergonomics Research Society 10 years ago… Oh, and I also manage a small antique shop down in Paulownia Mall. You should check it out sometime.”

And then it was Takeharu’s turn to bow “For you to join our rankings once again is still a big deal though… Thank you again.”

“Yeah yeah quit your yapping before I ask for a higher pay grade. It ain’t my decision to wake up in the Dark Hour just recently, you know.” She lazily picked up a folder from the room’s mahogany desk and read the labelling aloud. “Persona Weapon Fusion. Damn, I can’t believe I’ll be working on this shit again… I understand that the Kirijo Group is rich enough to produce Nihil weapons but I’m still wondering where I’ll get Personas for fusions. Making artificial Personas is too fucking expensive to just fuse it on a sword and every individual has only one Persona. You won’t go so low as to forcefully pull Personas out of innocent people, are you?”

“No, of course not. I am not my father. As for the Personas well, I would like to announce our latest discovery.” He grabbed a remote from his drawer and pointed it at the flat screen television at the other side of the room. A push of a button later made the television show the battle against the Shadow Magician Boss a few weeks ago. They watched as the blunette’s Persona transmogrified into a monster they’ve never seen before. The transmogrification left the blacksmith fearful of what’s to come and the scientist with morbid curiosity. The following scenes after that however left them with nothing but chills in their bones. It wrecked and destroyed, devoured and annihilated. They heard its sword sing as it butchered countless of Shadows with every swing. The battle became an all out slaughter. The bluenette collapsed and the video ended. The redhead was the first one to recover as he asked. “Are all his Personas like that?”

“No and according to my source, unusually, that specific Persona has never emerged from the boy ever since. The boy also claimed that its transmogrification was an accident.”

Shinou requested Takeharu to pause the video at a specific interval and inspected the image of the blunette and the two girls more closely. “I know those children...”

Takeharu nodded “Minato Arisato: Aside from being one of _his_ closest friends, he is also one of the 5 people who survived the incident in the Moonlight Bridge 10 years ago. I must also add that his twin sister, Minako Arisato also has the ability to hold multiple Personas.”

“They’ve grown so much… and the girl in pink?”

“Yukari Takeba while not possessing the same ability as the two still possesses a Persona is an orphaned child of our own Takeba-san.”

“Eiichiro… poor kid. You’ve been keeping an eye on everybody from that day, huh? So um can you tell me how Souji-kun’s been doing then?”

“Of course, let me ask my lookout.” He pulled out his phone and dialled a number. Takeharu patiently waited for the other line to pick up but a slowly advancing tune caught his attention instead. He later realized the tune of the ringing cell phone was coming from behind his back. His two guests gaped at the sight behind him and he inwardly sighed as he heard a knock on his window from the outside.

The woman of the three adjusted her glasses to see the individual more clearly “Is that… Unit #031?”

“You will know her by that name, would you? She actually has a new one.” He turned and opened the window and was immediately handed with the phone he has been trying to call, still ringing. He cut off the phone’s ringing and sighed at the sight of his lookout, rubbing awkwardly the back of her head. “How many times must I instruct you on how to use a cell phone properly? When it’s ringing, it means that all you have to do is flip it open and tap a button. My goodness, what would the mundane say when they see you fly with your thrusters towards the top of a 30-floor building of a multi-billion dollar company? It doesn’t equal to a summoning, Labrys.”

The mechanical maiden with bluish, gray long hair laughed awkwardly. The accent that came with her words made the redhead sweat drop and the woman smile in amusement. “Ahh sorry, boss. We don’ really use dose complicated stuff back then. So- uh, why’d you call fo’ me anyway?”


	12. Being Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scary stories, a psychopath and a toaster.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Inaba, a certain bleached haired teen is wearily walking back home. In contrast, a blonde boy is happily skipping away at his side. Most of the time, they are with their friends when they go home. Unfortunately, said other friends are indisposed for the time being making both thoroughly worried and the bleached haired teen suspicious as to what his friends have been up to lately.

It wasn’t the first time they did so, walking back home, and yet it is still hard to believe for many that two people that are opposite as day and night could actually become good friends. The mothers who passed them recognized the blonde boy as the cheery employee of Junes. The blonde waves at the recognized mothers and the mothers would do so but those with their children cannot. For upon seeing the bleached haired teen, many children would be ecstatic at seeing their favourite doll maker again causing their guardians to prohibit them from getting any closer to the nasty looking boy. Many times, this happened and the blonde couldn’t help but let out a laugh when the last mother and child were out of earshot. “Oh Kanji! Just how many kids are you making dolls for anyway!?”

The teen grunted “Dunno. Don’t count. And hey, you’re pretty popular yourself, Ted.”

Teddie beamed at this, making a happy twirl “Of course! I’m not the beary best employee of Junes for nothing! No housewife can resist this bear right here!”

“Tch. Best employee my ass. Just how many topsicles have you snipped again this week?”

“About twenty!” The bear said proudly “But Yosuke swore I’m about in my 23rd!”

“So uh Ted…” Kanji sobered up “Tell me… Honestly, what happened with Yosuke-sempai, Yukiko-sempai and Chie-sempai? I know that they said it was because they were drenched in the rain but when we visited them, I swore I saw a couple of scratches in there, Ted. I’ve seen those kinda scratches before and I’m pretty sure you don’ get ‘em by being drenched in the rain…”

“Ahahaha! What are you talking about silly Kanji!” He blonde laughed nervously “I-It’s not like they’re getting to fights or anything-!” He blinked and hurriedly clumped his mouth with both hands which only heightened Kanji’s curiosity.

“Wha-! What’s this about fights?!”

“It’s nothing! Sensei can take care of-!” he muttered before clumping his mouth again

“Sensei? You mean Souji-sempai…? What’s sempai got to do with this?!” When Teddie refused to let go of his mouth, Kanji was forced to remove them himself and then retorted by gripping the bear’s collar shirt aggressively “Answer me, you bear!”

“Hold it right there, Tatsumi!” A voice intervened and they turned to see a group of biker gangs who were all wearing black leather jackets and holding different weapons. Kanji immediately took a battle stance, recognizing those before them. “You may have wiped us up in Middle School but that doesn’t mean we would let you do whatever you want! That kid’s a friend of our aniki and we won’t let any of his chums be harmed while he’s away!”

The bear was able to escape the other’s grip when he noticed it loosen. Teddie held up both of his hands at the menacing group “No! You got it all wrong!”

But before he could continue, Kanji stepped forward. Teddie’s words still rang in his ears and Souji’s connections and the possible source of his sempais’ wounds only led him to one source. Coincidentally, that one source happened to be standing in front of him and he sure as hell will not be stopped by anything before he earns a well-deserved revenge for his friends.

* * *

 

It’s dinner time and the dorm is alive with its occupants’ chatters in the dining hall. The chairman’s nonappearance no longer bothered the newcomers and instead recognized the two seniors’ authority in his absence. Discussions occurred among its residents while the gray haired student silently picked on his food in the far end of the table, too immersed with his reverie to pay attention to anything else. Aside from his friends’ bad condition, the blacksmith’s appearance was quite the surprise.

After their short greetings, he became too distracted to continue his hunt with Margaret leading her to postpone the search. He knew the blacksmith’s presence is not essential when it comes to delivering Shadow materials to the Kirijo for research. It was unusual if not a little suspicious. After his contributions, he does not like the thought of the Kirijos going behind his back. Then again, he will not think twice about going against _his_ if need to be. The pause from his dorm mates caught his attention and he veered to Junpei who seem to have raised a topic of interest.

“…Well there’s this rumour that it was an angry spirit from this one ghost story.” He furrowed. And here he thought they were talking about Shadows. And then Minako at his side jerked. His disappointment was replaced by amusement.

“H-Hey! C’mon… Nobody believes that stuff! ...R-Right?” said Yukari with Minako vigorously nodding her head in agreement while her brother stares at her worriedly.

“So, what is this ghost story about?” asked a carefully straight faced Mitsuru and was followed up by Akihiko much to the two girls’ dismay. Finally receiving permission from the officials, Junpei nodded to Souji who turned off the lights, leaving the flashlight in Junpei’s hand the only light source of the room.

“Good evening. Welcome to Junpei’s Believe It or Don’t~. There are many strange things in thi-” However Junpei was cut off when Minato stood abruptly. He turned the lights back on.

“Let me take over. You’re scaring my sister…” the blunette confiscated the flashlight while the two scared girls sighed in relief. Junpei pouted “Aaaww com’on! You’re no fun!” And then turned to the officials while pointing an accusing finger on the other boy “He’s no fun!”.

The seniors shared a brief nod as though coming to a quick decision. In unison, the two turned to the last member. “Souji, you take over.”

“I don’t even know the freakin’ rumour!”

“Aaanyway~ lemme continue…” Junpei grabbed the flashlight back when everyone relented. Souji did his thing again. “According to a story… If you get caught at school late at night , you’ll be devoured by a maniacal ghost that roams the halls! The other day… This friend of mine- let’s call him Shu. He said to me: ’Junpei, I saw something strange.’ He said it was about a girl in 2-E. He claims he saw her go into the school on the night of the incident. I couldn’t believe it. She’s not the kind of girl to be out so late at night. But Shu was as white as a sheet. He insisted it was true…” Dramatic pause “Then it hit me… That ghost must’ve tried to make her its dinner! And that’s why they found her lying in the ground by the ga-!”

Minato confiscated the flashlight again. “Alright alright that’s enough! No more scary stories from you…”

Junpei still grinned though, spotting Yukari and Minako’s pale faces. Mission Accomplished. He decided to rub it to them though, Yukari specifically. “Wow, I didn’t know you were afraid of ghosts, Yuka-tan. That’s kinda funny.”

Yukari of course, took offense in this “F-Fine, let’s investigate. We’ll each ask around for the rest of the week” Argh more work “I’ll prove to you that this ghost story is just an urban legend!” Junpei sweatdropped and surprisingly, the authorities gave them permission. With the Arisatos, Souji inwardly wondered if his help is necessary at all. _Speaking of which…_

He stretched his arm pass Minako’s and subtly poked Minato in the shoulder causing the other to raise an eyebrow in question. “Hey boss man, we climbing the tower today?” he murmured and was replied by a shaking of the head. _Good_ … It’s not good to skip part-time so much however lax his boss is.

With his plate clean, he was about to go upstairs to change into his work uniform when he heard a voice that sounded very much like a friend of his.

**_“The hell are you punks doing here?!”_** Everything forgotten, he rushed towards the T.V to find a mean looking bleach haired boy with a nose piercing. He furrowed and knew that there is no way this could end nicely. He knew how people judge his friend from his looks after all. **_“This ain’t a show! Get bent!”_**

He heard a low whistle behind him “Whoo damn. That’s one mean lookin’ punk. You know him, Souj?” Junpei said and Souji nodded in confirmation.

Mitsuru muttered absently from the table “First that girl in the kimono and now that individual? You have a colourful variety of associates…”

“He’s not that bad…” Souji defended but upon seeing raised eyebrows, he sighed “Maybe he’s a little violent but trust me, he’s actually a really good guy… I’m sure there must be some reason why he did that. I’m pretty sure I’ve made him promise before to use as little violence as possible in dealing with this sort of things…”

Akihiko perked up “They said he wiped out an entire gang of bikers? He must be really strong… Maybe if he were to devote himself to sport, then that strength could be better controlled… Souji, is he interested in boxing?“

“No, he’s interested in sewing.” He deadpanned and disbelieving eyes met his, even Minato found it hard to not raise an eyebrow.

“He’s interested in _WHAT_!?” Junpei exclaimed with cheerful Minako pointing somewhere in the screen. “Maybe it’s because of _that_ guy. He sure looks stylish!”

Souji looked back at the T.V. and his eyes widened when he saw… _Teddie!?_

“Poor guy. I wonder what he’s doing there? He looks so out of place…” Yukari mumbled “Also, his hair and eyes look natural… almost like he’s…”

“Foreign.” Minato finished “He resembles that student in the fashion club, Andre…”

“Ooh! You’re right!” Exclaimed Minako “And his name is Bebe, not Andre! Jeez Onii-chan…” And with that, the talks continued, the news forgotten. Stories of the fashion club were raised and Souji smiled, wondering how Kanji would react if he ever found out that there is such a thing in Gekkoukan.

* * *

 

The night is still young yet he can already feel the sugar burning his throat and the back of his head throbbed along with the room’s deafening beats. He kept his head low so as to not attract the female flirts seeking for prompt companionship and the stoned men with poor judgement. With his bright red hair and blemished face, he could easily be mistaken to be fond of such. He knows. It’s always the same with the last clubs he was kicked out off and when he runs out of ideas on which place to get drinks… Club Escapade would always be on top of the list.

It wasn’t because of the drinks and definitely not because of the people but because it’s in Port Island, more specifically, Iwatodai. His visit was unfortunately poorly timed because it was then that a post-exam party was held at the time, making the club more crowded than usual. He felt someone bump the back of his chair and heard a revolting man spout words he couldn’t decipher.

‘ _Ignore him. He is not worthy of your time._ ’

The urge to reach out for his blades was incredible and he forced himself to focus on the voice inside his head.

_‘Remember what the others said, Sho. It is best to keep your head low. Just wait for a little more and we will make sure that these imbeciles be done for.’_

But when a minute has passed and the drunkard was still there, he knew no words from the blonde could ever prevent the man’s demise. He was feeling hot and angry and the different images of disembowelment in his head were tempting. He finally took hold of one of his blades but was interrupted by a hand. He did not know to whom it belongs to. At that moment, the hand might as well be another limb to slice.

He pulled

But no blade emerged.

It was then that he truly felt the impediment. Firm, commanding to the point of bone-crushing. And then as soon as it appeared, it retreated. His rage towards the drunkard was replaced by fervour for possible competition. He turned, eager to see what kind of person was able to obstruct him with such strength at such a critical moment but to his disappointment, only caught sight of a young bartender who smoothly tended the drunkard into a new seat. He ignored this, not catching the bartender’s apology for the disturbance and the cuss the drunkard directed to him. He ignored everything in his search but when no worthy opponent came out of view, he sighed.

One moment. One moment and his boredom would have finally vanished however temporary it might have been. He returned to his seat only to be surprised by his once empty glass, replenished by the earlier bartender for free as apology. He absently whirled the glass, watching its colourful contents. Out of his whole stay in Iwatodai, he knew only a handful with such a grip like that. A certain individual popped in his mind and he sniggered at the image of the said individual at such a place. _No, it couldn’t have been that bitch. I would’ve known and she would’ve been dead._

As the night went on, more people began to flood the dance floor, the music’s beats became much more intense, the alcohol intake of the partakers is off the charts. The lights continued to blind him despite keeping his head low and the loud chatters of teenage women were beginning to irritate him. He was seriously considering leaving the place but he shook his head and instead glanced at the club’s wall clock.

3…2…1…

And then all went silent, everything was green and the earlier lights were replaced by tall shadows created by the coffins at his back. He took a swig. _Much better._

“Ah…!”

He blinked, confused. He turned towards where the voice came from and found to his surprise, the bartender from earlier. The person seemed more surprised of him than on the change of atmosphere which only fuelled his sudden burning curiosity. And then he recalled the hand that stopped him before. Surely, only someone who fights Shadows would have such strength. So he stood and marched forth, taking hold of a clump of the boy’s shirt and hissed. “Was that you!?”

“Wha- was I what? I…!”

“When you took that old man away a while ago, did you clutch my wrist!?”

“I-I didn’t! I just-” The redhead took one of the boy’s hands and instantly knew he was telling the truth. The hand from before was smaller, smoother. So he let him go and returned to his seat as though nothing’s happened. There are still some questions though and since there’s only the two of them then and the awkward silence is edging to maddening...

“So…” He started “Is it your first time experiencing the ‘Dark Hour’?” He spoke the last two words slowly, emphasizing as though he was talking to a two year old. The bartender however, very slowly, returned to his station to drop off the dirty glasses he acquired from upstairs leaving his question unanswered. The individual wiped nonexistent dust from a randomly picked glass, obviously hesitant. He seems to insist on facing his back on him and it was clear as day that he doesn’t want to talk. Unfortunately for him, the redhead won’t stop for that. So he dealt with the situation the only way he knew how. He drew his blade. “Answer me, you little shit.”

The other jerked at the threat, eyeing the katana’s tip which was a few centimetres away from his face. He sputtered “N-no! It’s not my first time!”

“There!” He drove the sword’s edge to the table, making it stick and the person in front to jump. “Now, was that so fucking hard?! Stupid… leaving me hanging like that…”He muttered but inwardly, his mind reeled at what to do. He took another look at the boy in front. Should he tell the _others_? But what if he doesn’t have a persona? They would kill him for sure. But then again he wouldn’t care either way.

_‘Talk to him. Gather information.’_

_Ahh whatever…_

“So… what made you take on this shitty job?” he asked a lighter question when the other remained hesitant. Honestly, he would rather kill the guy in front. He doesn’t even know why _he_ bothered gathering information from some random guy.

“I’ve worked on a pub before… as a dish washer.”

“And where’d you get experience mixing drinks?”

“I-uh picked up some things from my previous boss. I worked for her for years and she taught me a lot.”

The redhead continued his line of questioning while the boy in front answered. Overall, the boy is remarkably… average. A bit smart though. Above average maybe? He just seems to be some guy who happens to be awake in the Dark Hour. And speaking of the said hour, he has a sneaking suspicion that it’s about to end. _One last question then._ “Are you aware of Shadows and Personas?”

“Shadows and what now?” the boy tilted his head in confusion and though the redhead has been expecting that sort of answer, he could not help but feel something well up in his chest. The feeling annoyed him … or at least that’s what he wants to believe. He focused somewhere in his head, searching for the presence and when he found it, he asked. _‘Should I kill him? Please say yes.’_

_‘He appears to be mundane but the fact that he is conscious means he possesses potential. Whether you will make use of that potential or not will be your choice however.’_

_No? Dammit.._

 “Um… sir? Are you okay?”

“Huh? Why? Don’t I look okay to you!? Of course I’m okay, you piece of shit…” He shook his head to clear up the thoughts and stood. What _he_ said is true. He can hate people however much he wants but the fact that he could use them remains. He pulled out the sword stuck in the table and sheathed the blade. He turned and made his way to the doors but not before hearing the bartender’s meek reminder that he hasn’t paid for his tab yet. He grinned “I know! The Dark Hour is useful like that dumbass…”

The redhead continued to walk until he heard the familiar taps of the keyboard. He spotted Jin in his laptop typing something he would never understand, Chidori sketching in her book and Takaya sitting in the corner as if waiting for something. The leader looked up and gave him an eerie smile that made his skin crawl.

_‘Not now. One day. We will finish the deal, Sho. And then everything will be yours.’_

He closed his eyes and looked away. It’s always like this. He couldn’t help it. The other two members he can deal with but that guy feels wrong. The smirk, the intent, the aura… It reminds him of-of _that man. That bastard._

_THAT. MOTHER. FUCKING. BASTARD._

The need to draw his blade returned and never left.

* * *

 

The bartender absently wiped the glass in his hand as he watched the retreating figure vanish and when he did, he took a moment to catch his breath. Suddenly feeling very weary, he placed the glass down.

“I know you’re in there” he gently smiled at one of the stereos on the stage “Thank you for preventing him in withdrawing his sword by the way. Your assistance was timely.”

A shadow shifted “H-how did you know?” An accented feminine voice responded

“I can see your shadow from here. You’re lucky the other guy was facing in the other direction.”

“Then I should thank you for bein’ discrete.” the individual emerged revealing a girl in black hood and jeans. One could easily mistake her for a boy if not for her petite figure. She let her hood fall away exposing ruby eyes and blue grayish hair tied in a pony tail. Despite this, he still saw very little of her skin since a white turtleneck underneath her hoody seems to be covering the majority of her neck. She stifled “Mah name’s Labrys and as fo’ that ‘other guy’- well, his name’s Sho Minazuki, just so you know. We think he’s a rogue science experiment and highly dangerous. His friends too are-”

“Wait, wait a sec, you’re going too fast…” He raised help up his arms to make her stop “Why are you telling me this again?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I want you to help me make ‘im see reason! Him and I went to similar experiences before so I want ‘im to take the right path! Make ‘im not hate people anymo’ and leave Strega.” He was about to ask what Strega means but she continued “I’ve been tryin’ and tryin’ but every time he sees me, he pulls out his sword and smiles and…” She sighed “…He _really_ likes to fight. Besides, you’ve already made contact and I’ve heard a lot about you from mah boss and-”

“Boss?”

“Kirijo-san! You knoooww… the one that has tons of cash?”

“Miss, all Kirijos have tons of cash.”

“…Mean-lookin’ guy with a cigar and wears an eye-patch?” Oh _that_ Kirijo-san…“He seems to really like you.”

 He raised an eyebrow “What do you mean Takeharu-san likes me?”

“He sometimes absently mutters how you would make a great son-in-law someday.”

“… _”_

“Oh look at the time! The hour’s almost done!” She placed her hood back on and ran to the exit “It’s nice meeting you, Seta-san! Oh and you should visit Ichikawa-san sometimes, she’s worried about you!” He watched as the girl took off and suddenly, understanding came to him when huge thrusters emerged from her back and took her off to the sky.

* * *

 

Souji never intended to collect information really. He knew the others were more than enough to cover that up. But in the following days, he quickly realized that it was not meant to be considering the whole school was on an uproar about the rumours. He was able to hear about the incident wherever he went. Or should he call it incidents?

“Yeah, it’s ‘incidents’ alright.” Said Sho who turned out to be a good information broker considering he’s usually in the streets. He noticed Sho perk up and he had to stop his sigh _Here he goes again…_ “I would never understand why you’re so interested in these ‘IN’cidents. Are they perhaps ‘IN’, right now? Ahaha! You get it?”

“Yes, very clever Sho-san.” He smiled at the other boy’s cringe worthy jokes and he couldn’t help but remember another pun machine that he is currently living with. He was starting to get used to him now. If he were to ignore the boy’s violence, he is remarkably child-like.

Ever since their encounter, they’ve continued to meet every time he’s on duty and when it’s the Dark Hour. A silent agreement to never speak of their relation to others has been made. They’ve exchanged names and have talked about random things just to break the awkward tension but that’s it. They’re still far from talking about personal matters, much to Labrys’ disappointment.

 She gives him a thumbs up sign after each session to encourage him further though. As much as he finds her gestures and innocence endearing, he couldn’t help but wish that she take care of matters with her own hands because he knew that keeping secrets from the guy could only spell trouble. Because of this, he has been very tempted to make the robot known to Sho for a while now…

“So, the three victims are all friends who have been bullying the same girl.” Souji concluded

“Hmm… yeah, those Gekko girls have been hanging out at the back of Port Island Station every night before they were hospitalized. They mentioned some things about this girl named… Fu-something. Don’ remember. Why are you even interested in this shit…?”

“Ah it’s nothing. It’s just that they’ve been saying so many different things… it’s hard not to get curious. Besides, my friends and I agreed to ask around…”

“Friends?” Sho grimaced “If you don’t wanna then don’t! Tch. Don’t be stupid dumbass. Don’t let other people tell you what to do especially not your ‘Friends’.”

He furrowed, confused “It’s not like they’re forcing me to do anything, it’s just out of curiosty…”

“Even so! You shouldn’t stick your nose too much on these kinda shit. It’s-!” He clumped shut just before he was about to finish.

Souji stared at him curiously. “It’s what?”

Sho gave him a threatening glare before sighing in frustration. “It’s nothing…”

Silence reigned over the two. Both too cautious to speak but when Souji noticed an encouraging figure seeming to cheer for him at the back of the room, it’s hard not to stay silent. “So… not too hot with friendships and such?” he asked and jumped nervously when Sho’s hand twitched closer to his sword’s handle. “Y-You don’t have to say anything! Just curious is all!”

Silence ruled once again and Souji was about to give up when Sho, to his surprise, answered “Isn’t the answer obvious? It’s stupid! Bonds and friendships…” he muttered as he stood up, watching at his self wounded watch “It’s nothing more but shams… In the end, people who talk about that shit are the ones who step on their so-called ‘friends’.”

Just when Sho was about to leave, the other boy called out. “Wait! Sho-san, I-!”

The redhead turned in confusion and paused as Souji took a steadying breath before declaring

“I would never step on you.”

That took Sho by surprise and he swore that even the voice in his head was a loss for words for a moment. He didn’t know how long he stared at him in shock but he eventually bellowed when he finally processed the words. _He thinks that the two of them are friends? Ha! What a load of bullshit! He may not use this guy in combat but he sure is good for entertainment!_

When his laughter finally rested, he waved a hand goodbye. Humans are the worst beings in the galaxy and whether Souji will learn this the hard way or not is of no concern to him.

When the redhead left, Souji was congratulated by a very eager Labrys for ‘finally growing a backbone’. “Still, that was really dangerous! I was expecting him to slice you up and I was ready to butt in! You have no idea how relieved I was when he laughed it off. I wouldn’t know what to tell my boss if the source of his Shadow materials got chopped up… N-not that I wasn’t worried about you, of course!”

“The fact that you’re more worried about your boss’ wrath than my safety still kinda hurts my feeling y’know…” he scowled and feigned annoyance which caused the girl to sputter nervously

“Oh come on! Don’ be like that!” She cried but when Souji continued to turn his back on her, she started stuttering apologies “I’m so sorry for my carelessness in words, Seta-san! I did not wish to offend you!” She began to turn him to face her. And then she spotted it: A small teasing smile from the boy. That night, Souji learned that robots have the capability to blush as well as launching people in the air without using flight mechanisms.

It took the others some time to lay off with the questioning of from where he got the slap mark and which girl did he harass. A minor Dia spell from out of everyone’s eye shot did the trick.

“Well, today’s Friday!” Yukari exclaimed which caught the attention of the junior members of S.E.E.S. “Did you ask around like we said?”

Junpei furrowed “What? We got something planned for today?” Minako had to hide a giggle with the back of her hand when Yukari popped a vein “I know, I know! I’m just kidding! Man, you have such a short temper.”

“Then we’ll meet in the lounge after school. Don’t forget!”

“Yes, ma’am” Yukari left with a final nod and when the girl’s out of earshot, Junpei proceeded to whisper to Minato. “So uh- what do we have planned today?”

Souji’s attention shifted when his phone beeped. He grabbed the device, read the message and proceeded to scratch the back of his head in concern which picked up the others’ interest. “Something wrong?”

“I’m not sure if I can make it to that meeting. I have some… ‘business’ to attend to.” Junpei irked at this

 “What!? Don’t tell me you’re going on another date with-!” Junpei’s words were interrupted by a hand so quick, he was already staring at the tip of a sword before he knew what’s going on. God knows where he pulled that thing from.

“ _I will kill you._ ” Before Souji could make those words a reality however, a shift behind him confirmed that no amount of hiding would let him escape from the nearing interrogation. The girl at his back stood and gently lowered the blade directed to Junpei.

“Now, now Sou-chan, it isn’t nice to point swords towards friends…” she said with a sickly sweet smile. Souji turned to Minato for help but found the blunette facing the opposite direction with his damnable headphones over his ears. “Now, what’s this about a date and why is this the first time I’ve heard of it?”

* * *

 

The first time she awoke, she felt hot and sore and she tried to remember what happened that it made her be so. When she did, her eyes snapped open. For a moment, adrenaline shot through her veins and yet it was still not enough to make her aching self sit up. She remained there, unmoving while two alarmed voices filled the room. The voices, she thought, were very different but at the same time, very similar. One was shrill while other was deep. One was cheery while other was grumpy. And yet both are soft and warm and kind and strangely, both reminded her of cute stuffed animals. They gave her water and soup. The grumpy voice is doing a much better job in taking care of her than the cheery one, she thought. She heard their banters and they amused her greatly, making the pain go away. She knew those voices she thought but before she was about to place names on them, she drifted.

The second time her eyes fluttered, the first thing she caught on was red and orange.

Yukiko and Yosuke she thought and her heart soared to know that they are well. Yukiko, to her dismay, is still guilty and she tried hard to comfort her by rubbing her clammy hands with hers. She wanted to speak but her mouth still felt like it was filled with cotton.

They took care of her and told her how Teddie and Kanji have been visiting her too and how Yukiko has been taking notes in her stead and how even Souji managed to sneak in some nights just to drop her some soup.

It was later said by her parents after her recovery that they would sometimes notice how their daughter would drift off as though in another world… which was amusing for the others considering how accurate the statement was. Just as her body began to heal, so did the state of her thoughts. And her friends could make a pretty good guess as to who or _whom_ she was thinking of.

The girl was quick to hate her days off though, not accustomed to being incapacitated. And when she has recovered fully, she finally managed to declare what she would like accomplish. As expected, her friends were very sceptical with the idea but she didn’t care. As long as that one person will back her up, she knew that the others would follow.

A few minutes of strolling later led them to the Junes’ electronics department. The bear was in the middle of distributing the glasses when they caught a sudden ripple in one of the television sets as well as the boy who came out of it. The teen gave the others his greetings before walking up to the girl who sent him the text message, stretching as though preparing for battle. “Yo, Chie. Ready to face your Shadow?”

She turned to face him, yellow eyeglasses equipped. “Yes”

* * *

 

With Chie at the head of the rest, she wasn’t able to catch her friends’ worried gazes and hushed whispers, mostly directed to Souji. He did his best to sooth their anxieties until they reached the castle’s entrance.

Chie was the first one to spot it. It was as though it’s been expecting its other half all this time. Souji could feel his friends’ worry as she gradually advanced to her doppelganger, leaving a decent space between them. It took some time before she managed to speak up. Her voice was calm, tinged with a bit of regret but stronger compared to the last time they met. Chie smiled and waved a casual hand “Hey”

When the other remained motionless, Chie let out a sigh and rubbed the back of her neck in frustration “Not exactly the talkative type huh? Alright, I’ll cut to the chase then…”

She straightened and the words that she seemed to have rehearsed in her head suddenly disappeared “I’m-uh sorry about last time…” she said “I wasn’t being fair with you… But hey, when someone who looks like you sermons your darkest, innermost thoughts, you couldn’t just stand still, right? _Sigh_ That doesn’t make your words any less true though…” She looked lost, seeming to forget those around her. At that moment, it was only just the two of them.

“I feel useless most of the time and I feel really insecure especially when it comes with Yukiko…” the mentioned girl stiffened but remained silent “She’s so beautiful… breathtakingly gorgeous and incredibly kind and smart and… She’s the one all the guys drool over, y’know? That’s why every time she gets jealous of me, I couldn’t help but…” She trailed off, turning her gaze back to her double “I can’t win as a girl and when I saw you, I realized that I couldn’t even win as a person. I can’t do anything alone. Not without Yukiko or Souji- heck, I couldn’t even do anything without Yosuke. The only time I don’t feel useless is when I’m with Yukiko and though I hate to admit it, it’s one of the reasons why I couldn’t loosen my grip on her. She’s too important to me.” She turned around to face her bestfriend, both girls with tear-stained cheeks “You’re too important to me.”

At those last words, Chie felt something in her snap. A gap in her heart she never thought existed was immediately filled with warmth that took her breath away and she immediately closed her eyes to close off everything around her just to feel and grasp on whatever power that was on work at that very moment. Hushed whispers resounded in the very depths of her soul and a familiar image in a form of a blue card fluttered before her eyes. And suddenly she knew, knew that it’s giving her another chance in life… to accept that part of her she couldn’t forgive and mould it into something better, something to be proud of.

The sudden rush left as soon as it appeared and the rapid change caused her knees to buckle. The euphoria vaporized, leaving a trail of ridiculous mimicries of what it once was. Her friends rushed to her to provide help but she waved their anxieties with a lazy hand. “I’m fine, I’m fine…. Just tired.”

They let her take a moment to breath but a certain bestfriend couldn’t take it anymore “Chie-!”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, you guys heard all that huh? Ahaha! That was kinda embarrassing now that I think about it!” Chie scratched her cheek in embarrassment “Just-uh forget about all that, okay? This never happened!” But Yukiko wouldn’t have any of it and stepped forward

“Chie, you’re not useless! And I don’t care if you befriend me because of something like that, we all have faults… I-” Yukiko dropped to her knees and hugged the other girl “Whatever happens, you’ll always be my bestfriend!”

“Yukiko…” But before she could continue, a bouncy bear interrupted

“Yay! We have Chie-chan now! Ooh! Does that mean you’ll be joining us in fighting Shadows too?!” The bear was hit at the back of the head “Owwie! Yosuke, what did you do that for?!”

“That’s for ruining the mood, you stupid bear! Honestly, how can you be so-!”

“Now, now, Yosuke it’s fine.” Chie stood up with the help of Yukiko and immediately began to walk towards the exit, her friends following her “I’m sick of all these sad, mushy stuff anyway.”

“I agree. I still have some things to do in the dorm.” Souji nodded

“But partner, we haven’t even had much of a proper discussion yet! We’ve talked about bits and pieces but that it. We have to talk about the kidnappings and the murders and you have to explain the real reason why you left Inaba.” explained Yosuke which was earned by a few nods from the women “We have to make the Investigation Team official!”

“Investigation Team? Wow you even came up with a name.” Souji chuckled “Also, since when did I approve of your joining in the investigation? You’ve seen how dangerous this world is...”

“We’re not asking for approval!” claimed Chie

“We won’t stand by idly, knowing that there’s a murderer on the loose that only we can stop!” reasoned Yosuke

“Also…” Yukiko began, ready to deliver the final blow “I’m one of the victims! If anybody, I have the most right to go after the one who intended to kill me.” Upon raising a valid point, the two others raised a thumbs up mark to the girl. Souji turned to his last hope and was betrayed when he spotted the bear doing the same gesture to Yukiko. _Dammit Ted._ Souji thought things through, rubbing his chin while the others waited with anticipation. It’s all true. He needs help and even if he were to refuse, all of them have the ability to enter T.V.s now so the best option to keep them alive is to fight alongside them. Looking after one of the victims is also critical in case the murderer returns so…

After much consideration, he surrendered “…Fine.”

The party started high-fiving each other. Winning against someone like Souji is a big deal after all. When Teddie saw how his Sensei sulked, he grinned “Aw come on, Sensei! There’s going to be more of us now! With this, we would be able to make this world normal again. No more thrown people and sprouting realities and such.”

“Besides…” Yosuke turned to the bear “All this time, Teddie has always been your only ally, right? Not like I’m belittling Ted but we all know you could use some help!” _Actually, there’s the people in the Velvet Room and-_ He didn’t bother correcting him. Up until now, Teddie has always been his only ally and that’s what the rest would believe. They’ve already reached the T.V. that would take them to Junes when Yosuke pumped his fist in the air followed by the enthusiastic ascent of the rest.“Alright! With this, the Investigation Team is now official!”

“I say it’s time to go back and eat some meat!” said Chie “What do you say, Souji-kun? You wanna go eat something first before going back?”

“I would love to but not today. I have a meeting to attend that would start any moment now and it’s best that I head back.”

“Oh come now. It wouldn’t take very long.” Said Yukiko and he had to withhold a disappointed sigh but immediately perked up upon remembering something.

“It’s fine, Golden Week’s around the corner anyway, right?”

His friends blinked, not quite understanding the meaning behind his words when Yukiko, the smartest one, suddenly brightened “Ehh!? You’ll be staying during Golden Week?!”

The other three jumped upon Yukiko’s exclamation and when they’re about to ask Souji, they found him already a little ways away “H-hey, Partner! Is that true?!” “You’re really going back?!” “Sensei! Don’t get our paws up for fun! Are you really staying?!”

The Shadow amidst the yellow fog gave them the thumbs up while yelling “See you in Golden Week!”


	13. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding Fuuka, meeting Shinji and losing ------.

He was able to make it to the meeting in time and internally thanked the violent redhead once again for the reliable info. As he has expected, the Arisatos were more than enough for the small chore and after the discussion, they agreed that more information is needed. Only one place came to mind: Port Island Station

The five journeyed into the infamous area with a daring Yukari in front followed by Minato, Minako, Junpei and Souji. Upon arrival, Souji immediately understood Sho’s words of warning. Left and right, they were welcomed by hostile scrutiny. Yukari’s brave front slightly wavered and Minato automatically came closer to his sister in a shielding stance. Souji gave Junpei a reprimanding look upon catching the capped teen turn around, glancing hopefully at the exit. “Oh man, this is worse than I thought.” Junpei muttered and while the others agreed, Souji wasn’t bothered at all. Having to sneak in such areas in the past to find the Velvet Door made him accustomed to such malice. _Now if only the people here were to wear leather jackets, I’d feel right at home._

“Hey you. I think you’re in the wrong place” _Ahh there it is. The customary greetings._ “You don’t belong here… Get it? Beat it, goatee.”

He felt Junpei nervously shift at his side and warily looked around, internally hoping there was some other guy with a goatee aside from him “G-Goatee? Oh, y-you mean me?”

Just when the punk was about to continue his harassment, Yukari stepped up “We don’t need your permission to be here.” He was surprised the girl has such a backbone. Now if only she were to use that courage in horror stories instead of situations displaying a clear disadvantage towards their health, he would be impressed.

“H-Hey! Are you nuts?! Take a look around you!”

She rolled her eyes “I’m not blind y’know… C’mon! Don’t be intimidated by these scums!”

“What was that?” interjected the punk with a beanie and was answered by a violent looking woman at the side “She just called us ‘scum’.”

“Let’s get ‘em! Who cares where they’re from…”

“These guys are the worst” Yukari muttered audibly but back off when the beanie wearing punk walked forward menacingly

“You oughta learn to shut that trap of yours. Man, I feel sorry for you, Goatee. This bitch is a pain in the ass huh?” Souji pulled Junpei away just before the fist could connect the boy’s stomach. “W-Why you-!”

The rest started to crack their knuckles and proceeded to move forward, ready for action. They were surrounded and someone at Souji’s back held a steel pipe high, directed to the boy. Souji positioned himself on a defensive but the steel pipe did not fall. The hand that clutched the pipe forcefully pulled it away from the man. Faster than the eye could see, the metal landed at the back of the man’s head, leaving him unconscious. The drop of the weapon resounded in the alley and the rest turned to see who interjected and was met the sight of bright red hair. Souji gawked “Sh-Sho-san?”

With the distraction caused by his entrance, another man near Minako raised a mean fist on the girl. With her brother as her guard however, Minato caught the knuckle single-handedly. His friends rarely get a solid reaction from the boy but it was clear that the attempt left Minato fuming. “Get your filthy hands away from my sister.” He pulled, bringing the burly man’s body forward. The sudden force caused him to stumble and met face first with Minato’s raised knee. The satisfying crack caused many to cringe and the silent boy’s mouth to smirk. With two of their comrades down, the rest readied themselves for the fight. When they were about to join the brawl, a menacing voice interrupted.

“That’s enough.”

The high schoolers watched the punks flinch, fear in their eyes. Souji would recognize those looks anywhere. They were the same looks given to him back in Inaba. From the shadows, a man in a trench coat emerged. His body structure suggested that he was older than them but without the mean look and the beanie, Souji was pretty sure the guy would look about the same age as them. Souji’s curiosity heightened when he saw his friends’ shocked faces “They didn’t know what they were getting into. I’ll make sure they leave. Alright?”

Despite the authoritative figure the man held, the punk from before foolishly spat out “Who do you think you are, dumbass? You want some too?!”

“ _*Sigh*_ Do I have a choice?”

“That’s it, you’re goin’ down!!” The punk blindly rushed forward. The guy didn’t even raise a finger and clashed his head with the other, delivering a mean headbutt causing the other sprawl back. “ _*Gasp*_ Shit…”

“Damn you, Shinjiro. That’s right, you’re from Gekko High too, aren’t ya?!” The punk’s buddy swore “I thought you two were one of us… That includes you, Sho!”

“What gave you that idea? I don’t remember swearing a blood oath.” Shinji scoffed while Sho rolled his eyes

“I don’t think I’ve ever associated with you jackasses before…” Sho muttered

“You sons of bitches! You just crossed the line! You think you two are going home alive?!”

“Sure do… Wanna give it a try?” Upon seeing the threatening glare from the two however, the punk chickened out

“Uh… S-Screw this!” The violent chicks chuckled at the scene, further humiliating the punks. Knowing they’re in a disadvantage, they ran off, calling a word of warning. “You better grow eyes in the back of your head!”

With the main scums running off, the other followed. This left the students relieved but it was quick to fade upon seeing Shinjiro’s and Sho’s angry looks. “You idiots!”, “Souji, you dumbass!”

They hollered in unison, making them catch the other’s eye. It was obvious from the onlookers that the two are holding some sort of a feared reputation in the area and they were internally worried of a possible fight to break out. Souji, especially, considering he knew of Sho’s violent inclinations. He eventually saw the first signs of Sho getting out of control and was about to call for them to stop when he saw it: a sudden shift.

In an instant, Sho relaxed and his earlier threatening air was replaced by a cool that shocked Souji to the core. He knew Sho and for the boy to undergo such a sudden shift is mind-boggling. Despite the inner turmoil the change caused in Souji, it had the opposite effect on Shinjiro. This caused the man to precede his reprimands to the onlookers “Get outta here. This place isn’t for you”

“Wait!” Yukari spoke up “We came here for a reason!”

“You guys… You were at the hospital.” Shinjiro’s eyes widened in recognition “Did Aki tell you to come here?” Minato after contemplating, shook his head “Stupid move… What do you wanna know? About that ghost story?”

“Evidently.” Sho(?) muttered, looking at Souji. The boy felt goose bumps at the look the redhead gave him. The closest thing he could describe with the demeanour is displeasure. Not to mention, Souji knew that Sho would rather be caught dead than be caught using such a profound word such as ‘Evidently’. Even Shinjiro seems to have taken an interest in this. “What an obstinate individual… Must you be forewarned time and time again? I suppose _he_ wasn’t as forthright as I would’ve liked so let me clarify: The state of affairs you’ve been sticking your nose into is perilous and I, _he_ included, would very much like you to stay away from it.”

Shinjiro raised an eyebrow while Souji continued to gawk. He realized that the overly composed redhead was waiting for an answer and managed to mutter, trying not to make it sound like a question “…O-Okay.”

When Sho(?) seemed to have been satisfied, he nodded to Shinjiro. “Aragaki?”

“Yeah, so you wanna hear about the ghost story, huh?” Shinjiro walked over to a small set of stairs, followed by the others.”It’s a rumour.” He sat and proceeded with the explanation “Those girls who wound up in the hospital were here talkin’ shit every night… about all the things they’d done about some girl named Fuuka.”

“Fuuka? You mean Fuuka Yamagishi from class 2-E? They were picking on her?” Junpei asked

“That’s why people are saying that it’s Fuuka’s spirit that did it. I hear it’s all over the net too.”

“Fuuka’s spirit? Wait, what do you mean by that?!” Yukari asked while the three wildcards’ faces ashen, seeming to have come with the same conclusion

“You are unaware of it then?” asked an unsurprised Sho while Shinjiro looked on “Since more than one week has passed, there are many speculations regarding Fuuka Yamagishi’s disappearance. The majority are almost certain that the girl has passed on.”

“Don’t you guys go to school? How do you not know this?” followed a disturbed Shinjiro. The juniors shared perplexed expressions, recalling all the information they’ve gathered in school and realized that no one spoke a word about the girl’s disappearance.

“Are you serious? I thought she was out sick… But she’s missing?!” Junpei clicked his tongue while Minato adopted a solemn look

“So much for the ghost story. Mister Ekoda is the homeroom teacher for 2-E, right? Does he know about this?” Yukari complained

“We’ll have to ask him for ourselves.” Minako decided. With the newfound resolution of the friends, Shinjiro seemed to have reached a conclusion. He unconsciously stood, his head lowered and both hands still in his pockets.

“I get it, Aki… Still trying to make up for the past.” Shinjiro mumbled “It’s you who can’t let go.” He then realized that he spoke out loud and inwardly berated himself for making such a mistake “It’s nothing.” Shinjiro shook his head in reply to the perplexed looks “That’s all I know. Satisfied?”

“Yeah! Thanks, sempai! You too, um-” Junpei looked at Souji for help when he realized that the redhead won’t introduce himself. And so, being the only one familiar with the guy.

“Thank you, Sho. I’ll try not to get in too much trouble so you don’t have to worry yourself anymore.” Souji bowed his head to the redhead who left as soon as receiving his thanks from the boy. The others thought that this was very rude but Souji seemed to think nothing of it as he turned to the other guy to give the same gesture “Thank you, Shinjiro-san. Also, it’s our first meeting so I suppose I should say that it’s nice to meet you.” Shinjiro replied with a deep murky sound from the back of his throat that Souji swore sounded like ‘good to meet you too’

Junpei nudged at his other friends “…Come on, show some appreciation.”

Minato silently but sincerely dipped his head followed by a prim mannered Minako. Yukari enthusiastically bowed as well “Thanks! You totally helped us out! …You’re very kind.”

”…Huh?” The man squinted in what appears to be irritation, causing Yukari to back away. Before she could take back what she said however, Minako nodded in agreement

“Yeah, Shinjiro-sempai is very kind!” Shinji was surprise. Normally, he would respond with more venomous words but the sight of the friendly looking girl that would melt any sane man’s heart was overpowering. That face was endearing and warm and cute and-

A look dripping with malice stopped any chain of thoughts for continuing further. Behind the girl, Shiji watched a dark miasma form. Further inspection led him to the girl’s stone-faced brother. Shinjiro doesn’t always back away in a fight but the sight of an overprotective sis-con was truly unsettling. Despite this, nobody seems to have noticed anything out of the ordinary aside from him. He quickly mustered a reply, eager to back away as far as possible from the blunette “Tch.. D-Don’t come here again.”

They watched the beanie wearing teen walk away hurriedly. “What’s wrong with him?” Minako inquired but her brother simply gave a shrug in response. “Hmm… must be something he ate. Poor sempai.”

* * *

 

After the Investigation Team was put to stone, they’ve agreed to connect with the other every time there was a change or progress in the case. Souji, knowing the weather in Inaba, has been expecting a text from his second banana(Yosuke) at the time. He knew that the Midnight Channel would be airing and that Yosuke would be updating him. He has been expecting Yosuke to message him but what took him by surprise was the content.

Aside from being in Inaba, the only similarity the victims share were their genders. This was however thrown out of the window due to Yosuke’s text message.

**_“Someone appeared in the Midnight Channel again. We’re pretty sure it’s a guy this time. Too much static, no idea who.”_ **

After sending him his thanks, Souji switched his attention to the other matter at hand. Fuuka Yamagishi.

Together, they entered the Faculty’s Office and were welcomed with the sight of a flustered Mr. Ekoda, Mitsuru and an unnamed girl. Yukari seems to recognize her though, judging by her expression but placed her interest aside to greet their senior. “Mitsuru-senpai? Why are you here?”

“Same reason as you.” She said and inquired the middle aged man in front “Mr. Ekoda, I’m here to ask you about a student named Fuuka Yamagishi.”

“No!” The brunette girl exclaimed, startling them “I never thought it’d turn out like this.” She sighed “Fuuka…”

“Y-You’re that girl…” Yukari breathed, finally remembering the brunette

“What did you do to Yamagishi?” Mitsuru probed and Ekoda nervously tried to make her back off, worried. Whether his concern is about his student or himself however, is something the President intends to expose.

“Hold on, Mitsuru. This isn’t an interrogation. Natsuki, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. You wouldn’t want to give her the wrong idea.”

“Fuuka… she-” the girl named Natsuki started “She always looked so frazzled whenever I give her a hard time. Then… I realized that she’s an honour student, but deep inside, she’s just the same as us. I knew exactly which buttons to push. We were just messing with her that day too.” She confessed and began to tremble as she started to recount the juicy parts “May 29th… We took Fuuka to the gym and locked the door from the outside. That night, Maki returned to school alone. She’s afraid we’d get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide. But she never came back and the next morning…”

“She was found lying in the ground in front of the school gate.” Yukari finished

“I went to the gym to let Fuuka out but the door was still locked. So, I opened it and went inside but she wasn’t there. We all freaked out. Starting that night, we went out looking for her. But every night, one of us goes missing… and they each ended up like Maki!”

“I see…” Mitsuru sighed, concerned “By the way, Mr. Ekoda… All this time, you’ve attributed Yamagishi’s absences as ‘illness’. But in reality, she was missing. You must have been aware of that. What was your intention.”

There was a definite steel in Mitsuru’s voice but the foolish professor seemed to not have noticed this “I was thinking of the students, of course. You children may not understand but we have to consider the future of everyone affected.” _Wrong answer_ they all thought.

“You mean you chose to not report this to the police for the ‘good of the class’.”

“It-It was in her best interest. I wouldn’t want her records to be stained by something like this. Her parents agreed!” That last part made Souji’s eye twitch. He could relate with having unsatisfactory parents but for hers to be more concerned about her records than their child’s safety is intolerable.

“So to protest your career, you ignored your responsibility as a teacher.” Mitsuru settled and immediately, the steely voice from before made a huge come back “How despicable”

Ekoda couldn’t smother a gasp and began to stutter incoherently before the Student Council President’s appalled expression. Mitsuru ignored this and further probed the depressed Natsuki. “About your friends… Did you notice anything unusual before the incidents?” The juniors piqued up as Mitsuru tried hard not to be too assertive with the particular question. “…Anything at all.”

Natsuki took some time to think before flinching, finally remembering something “They all heard a voice. A creepy voice… right before each of them went missing. They said it was calling their name.” The members of S.E.E.S cringed. They’ve all had their suspicions but this definitely confirms it.

They all shared a look, muttering their inner thoughts. “Until now, there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour. But it’s the voice. It draws them in. It’s not a random phenomenon. This whole thing has made me realize… they’re clearly targeting humans.” Mitsuru explained before voicing out their established truth “Shadows are the enemy of mankind.”

She did not mind letting the two mundane hear what they would call a classified information. She knew they would be too concerned about their own welfare than some talk they could not even understand. With this in mind, she turned again to Natsuki, leaving the juniors to their own thoughts once more. “Stay at our dorm tonight; it’s the safest place.” Natsuki nodded “If you hear the voice, tell us immediately. And don’t leave the room, no matter what. If you can do that much then you should be fine. Don’t worry, Yamagishi should be alright as well.”

They heard the school bell’s toll, signalling the end of their break. Mitsuru turned to her group “We’ll meet after school in the Student Council Room to discuss tonight’s operation. We will recover Yamagishi Fukka at all costs. If my guess is correct, she’s still inside the school. Now let’s go.”

* * *

 

The discussion in the Student Council Room was concluded with everyone agreeing on the search for the missing girl. An infiltration in the campus grounds will occur. The team will enter Tartarus by staying in the gym till the clock strikes 12. A huge amount of assurance was made by Akihiko, which surprised most of the team, which sealed the deal for tonight’s operation. There was still the thing about Natsuki Moriyama staying in the dorms and the juniors volunteered to get a hold of her in class 2-E and return to the Student Council after. Akihiko agreed but just when they were about to leave, Mitsuru called out.

“Except for you Seta. I need to speak with you.” She said in a voice that drove him and everybody else on edge. To make matters worse is the word that she followed it up with “Privately”

He sighed. _Great._

Just when he was about to deliver a pleading gaze to the others, he felt the rest of the junior members scurry out of the room. Next up was Akihiko who suddenly remembered he has a ‘boxing match’ coming up. Nothing but thoughts of abandonment was left in him as he watched his salvation walk out of the room. He sneaked a peek at the empress currently sitting on her throne. The lone chair across her table suddenly looks abysmal compared to the rest of the room’s furniture.

“Don’t worry, Seta. You’re not in trouble or anything.Come, sit.” Despite his hesitance, he followed his senior’s instructions. He silently prayed for Hidetoshi or Chihiro to arrive despite knowing no Student Council activity would occur that day. Mitsuru straightened up, ready to get down to business “I met with my father a while ago and he informed me that Shinshoudou just opened. He suggested that we check it out.” She looked at him warily as though expecting to get a reaction but getting nothing “He told me that you, specifically, would be happy about it.”

 “Me? Why? I don’t even know what that is.”

“You don’t? Oh, that’s right. I keep forgetting you’re not from around here. It’s an antique shop.”

“An antique-” He blinked and a smile slowly took over his lips at the realization “Ah, I see. I get it now.” He unconsciously nodded before a curious but silent Mitsuru. He doesn’t blame the girl for wanting to probe and he inwardly berated Takeharu for his poor judgement. Their work and rapport is such confidentiality that only a handful knew of it even in the Kirijo Group. For the man to choose his own daughter to dispatch such casual data that would hint on their association is mind boggling. “Thanks for telling me this. Is that all?”

Mitsuru produced a small envelope and slid it on the table towards him. His clean, hand written name etched on the paper was daunting. “He wanted me to give you this.” A flicker of suspicion gave out on her carefully composed face as he cautiously took the letter. He briefly considered reading it in private before she made the decision for him. “Oh and he said that you’re supposed to read it while I’m present. As for the reason, he did not say.”

Upon hearing the direction, he suddenly had a sneaking suspicion about what it was about. Surprising the girl, he began to hastily open it and she watched him let out a groan, hiding the paper from her. “Wh-What is it?”

“Nah, it’s nothing…” he muttered as he sneaked another look at the paper with nothing but three words on it: _She’s still single._ Another proposal.

After so many years of knowing the man, this has been a running joke for the two of them even before he knew his daughter personally. Seriously, you would think he’s different from any other doting father when he’s actually not. Souji could carelessly laugh it off back when he knew her only through stories and pictures but now that he lives under the same roof as the girl, the occasional proposals left him even more embarrassed than before. “It’s nothing at all.”

With him tongue tied and when they still have some time to kill, Mitsuru ignored his awkward state and pointed out the crux “So, do you know my father personally?”

He honestly wasn’t sure what to answer. While Mitsuru handles Shadow related business in Iwatodai, he handles Shadow related business in Inaba and while there is some difference about their way of working, he knew how much of a dilemma maintaining harmony in your hometown. So while he is trying to take down the Dark Hour in Iwatodai, he still constantly worries over his people at home. Takeharu Kirijo used to expresses his concern about his working alone. Hell, the guy proposed back then about letting Mitsuru in on their little secret and get some action. The not so subtle usage of her daughter as a messenger is most probably an unsaid message “I’ve… met him before, I guess. I used to live here, after all but that was a long time ago. I wouldn’t say that we’re close or anything.”

“He called you ‘Sou-chan’.” She deadpanned

He furrowed. The eye patched man never calls him with the given name. “I was probably really young when we first met.” He defended “It wouldn’t be too farfetched if he heard about me from my guardian. She tends to call me ‘Sou-chan’, after all.”

“But for your guardian to be connected with my father, she has to closely work with the Group.”

“She did. She used to work for the Kirijos.” _And if she still does, Takeharu-san will get an earful._ He hates the idea of his loved ones dealing with the shit he does. The Arisatos are more than enough. “She was a scientist, important one too. If I remember correctly, she worked on that shady project ten years ago but left halfway through.”

_Shady project?_ Realization soon settled and she had to consciously stop a grimace from spreading “You know people from the project. That’s why you know…”

He shook his head “Don’t misunderstand. She never told me anything and people are too chicken to say anything offending to the owner of the island they’re in.” His face relaxed as he recalled “I heard it from the nurses. Do you know when nurses talk? They talk at night. When the halls are empty, when they think most of the people are asleep, not knowing their 5 year old patient couldn’t because every time he closes his eyes, all he could see were mangled bodies.” While it is true that he used to sneak on his guardian’s belongings as a child, it is also true that a rumour of the Kirijo’s connection with the incident spread like wildfire. Mitsuru turned in her seat uncomfortably as he drifted off “With the moon full, Death and android soared in the green sky, dancing and hailing a storm of bullets and lights while three children watched in morbid fascination…”

Mitsuru knew that he knows something but never to this degree. The last bit was something even she was unaware of. She doubts even her father knew about some of the details Souji holds. After the incident, constituents of the Kirijo Group collected the remains of the android girl but found her memory files far too damaged to be restored. In fear, a search for the monster occurred but with no leads and with no questionable incidents over the past few years, the search was discontinued. She suspects her father knows and now, Souji as well. She wondered if the Arisatos does too and inquired but the boy shook his head in denial. “You’re the only one who remembered?”

“You can never truly forget such things.” He gave her a meaningful look “The two are bound to remember soon and the others will know as well one way or another.”

At heart, she knew that he spoke the truth and yet his words seem so alien in her ears. For so many years, she has been working hard on the downfall of the Dark Hour and yet it was only a few months back when they truly got results. Newfound allies came along with the growing success but in their progress, she completely neglected to disclose to them the _whole_ truth. Each waking hour, she vows that _this is the day I will tell them_ and every end of the day, she would berate herself for being such a coward. While it is true that their actions are nothing but for the good of mankind, in some way, they were being used by those responsible too. And she fears that once they knew, they will not only abandon the fight but their budding rapport as well. It wasn’t for the sake of penance anymore. It became personal to her as well. She convinced herself that her link is nothing more but an adversary that would destroy their association and not an obstruction to a possibly more genuine relationship. For him to even suggest of revealing that secret struck her deeply “You dare…”

He ignored her tone and continued “It could come from me, you, somebody else… but I promise you: they will know. They deserve to know.” Whether it was a threat or advice, she was uncertain. “You don’t have to hide anything. The sins of your forefathers are not yours to bear.”

His words remind her of her father “Somebody has to.”

“Most have already paid it with their lives. The rest have been carrying it ever since and they will continue to until their demise.”

Being linked with those responsible of the great evil, she has been blamed more than enough times for her family’s wickedness but here he was, a direct victim, telling her otherwise. She couldn’t help an amount of emotion from leaking out “I can’t just sit by and do nothing”

“No, you can’t and so can’t I. I’m not saying that your actions are a bad thing. In fact I think they’re noble but the intent behind those deeds is something that I cannot recognize.”

“Why…” She heaved “Why are you so intent on holding me back? Aren’t you a victim of my family’s unforgiveable transgressions!?”

“There’s not a lot of the original members of the ERGO living today and the handful that did are doing their best to correct their past mistakes.” He reasoned then shrugged “They’re not exactly unforgiveable…” Despite his nonchalance, she couldn’t ignore the implication in his last words. He didn’t know what he did but her shoulders shook and in turn, the boy was pleasantly surprised by the vulnerability that he just now noticed. The normally cold exterior of the girl broke and she tried hard to hide what it revealed. It suited her, he thought. Nevertheless, she was in the female phase of will-cry-at-any-moment and he racked his brain on ways to comfort a girl. Girlsin anime tend to like that stroke-in-the-head technique, he thought. But before he could utilize the procedure, the door opened and suddenly she was the mighty empress again. Souji found the transformation disheartening.

“You’re back” she greeted the newly arrivals, surprisingly haughty “You took your sweet time. That goes to you too, Akihiko. Moriyama is with you? Good. I need some people to drop by in Shinshoudou.” The newcomers shared puzzled looks at the babbling Mitsuru.

At the sight of his usually composed co-worker, Akihiko hesitantly inquired “Uh… Mitsuru? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She ignored Akihiko’s unconvinced expression and turned to the kohais “Can you juniors handle dropping by Shinshoudou? Akihiko, be a gentleman and escort Ms. Moriyama in the dorms. You all go ahead, I still need to speak with some of the teachers about… something.” She hurriedly left the still bewildered crowd with a small sniff.

On their way to the store, he felt someone bump shoulders with him and turned to see a smirking Minako. “Someone’s a ladykiller.” She murmured just loud enough for only the two of them to hear

“Not me”

“Pfft… oh please, Sou-chan. Everybody knows how popular you are with chicks.” She giggled “The air was so thick when we arrived that I could cut it with my naginata. You sure know how to make a girl jealous.”

“Why Minako, my dear, that thing earlier was nothing more but a minor scuffle. You know it is you who I really want.”

“Nope, you can’t make me forgive you however much you flutter your eyelashes at me. You’re staying in the couch tonight.” She finished the sentence with raised finger while Souji smiled in amusement.

“Ahem” They blinked and turned to a grinning Junpei “Are you sure you guys are okay playing husband and wife in front of this guy?” He pointed at Minato with a thumb “Souji, you must be really brave or really stupid.”

It is well known to all that each and every attempt in courting Minako has been broken by her brother. Souji stiffened upon realizing Junpei’s words were right and nervously scratched the back of his head while Minako smiled anxiously. Souji cleared his throat “Hey man, you know we’re just playing around right? Don’t worry, I’m not taking Minako away from you or anything…”

Minato’s back was facing them so they couldn’t quite see what the blunette’s face was like. When Minato turned to face them, his face was surprisingly relaxed and they could even catch a small curve on the edges of his mouth. He directed his gaze to his sister “If it’s Souji then it’s okay.”

It took the others, especially Souji and Minako, to digest the blunette’s words. They were only broken by their reverie when they realized that Minato has been walking further and further away from them. They all ran after him to catch up with a panicked but blushing Souji calling out “Wait! Minato, what do you mean by-?!”

“I give you my blessings. I wish the two of you happiness.”

“Stop kidding around!” Before Souji could exclaim any further, his arm was clutched by a meek and blushing Minako.

“You know this is the first time he gave his blessings to anybody.” Her gentle smile grew and it did not help that the colour of her cheeks did not lessen “Just so you know, I would like to live one day in a small and homey cabin somewhere outside in the city. I would like to keep a dog but a cat is okay too. I would like to name our son Yuki and if it’s girl then it should be Hamuko-”

“Damnit Minako not you too!”

* * *

 

His heart threatened to jump out of his chest as they neared the store. Normally, people would find the humble establishment to be quite homely in contrast to its other neighbours in the mall and its sight is nothing to be nervous about. It was a different case for Souji however and his friends looked at him worriedly as they stood outside of the store’s entrance. Junpei scratched his head under the cap “What’s happening to our cool and calm members? First Mitsuru-sempai and now you? Who’s next? Minato?”

“Impossible. Nothing ever fazes Minato-kun… well, except if Minako-chan’s involved.” Yukari mumbled. Minato directed his questioning eyes to him. He didn’t need to talk much, his gaze was enough to send any message as evidenced to Souji’s sigh.

“Do you remember my guardian back when we were kids?”

“Shinou-obasan?” Minako asked while Minato nodded. Yukari and Junpei didn’t react at the unfamiliar name and politely waited for an explanation

“She’s in there.” Souji muttered and in understanding, Minako’s smile brightened like the sun while Minato adopted a gentle one of his own. Souji turned to the still bemused stares at the other two and continued “We’ve been exchanging letters and postcards but this is the first in 10 years since I’ve last seen her.”

His work with the Kirijos didn’t require him to be in Iwatodai and with his continues transferees and staying in a backwater town in the next 5 years after, it was highly unlikely that they meet. Yukari and Junpei let out a series of ‘Ohh’s in understanding.

“So, doesn’t that mean we need to give you space or something? Leave you two alone to catch up?”

“Nah, we’re here for business. You don’t need to do that for me. I’d be fine just seeing her again.”

“You sure? Alright then, let’s go” Junpei nonchalantly walked into the shop followed by the others and a very reluctant Souji.

“Welcome” A familiar voice called out at the back of the shop. Soft steps followed along with Souji’s rising blood pressure. The shelves revealed a middle aged woman in fitting Chinese clothing. Her gray hair is tied up revealing a pretty face “What can I do for you?”

The group waited in anticipation at what they believe would be a heart warming reunion but she looked at them blankly. She didn’t react to the three of them. Not even the pale faced guy at the front.

“Well?” The woman muttered “Are you gonna buy something or what?”

The others looked at Souji expectantly with a twinge of sympathy. They were expecting him to make some sort of an explanation like those in soap operas. They were expecting him to blurt out something like ‘I’m your long lost son’ or something but not this. “Okay.”

Their eyes followed him as he browsed the shelves and picked up random colourful orb-things that seemed out of place in the antique shop. Souji seemed to know what they are though as he stopped in front of a gold, expensive-looking orb and appeared perplexed whether to purchase it or not. They felt the owner’s piercing gaze and proceeded to hastily browse the store as well while still keeping an eye on the gray haired boy. They followed the boy’s lead and grabbed some orbs as well but none dared touch the gold orb earlier which they found to be labelled as ‘Soma’ with a whooping price of 50,000 yen. Souji took their chosen orbs(that they _still_ don’t what are for) and paid for everything. As the woman packed them up, she casually muttered “Been a long time, huh?”

She wasn’t looking at anybody but Souji suspects the words were for him. He nodded, a small quirk barely present at the ends of his lips “Yeah”

“I wasn’t talking to you, dumbass. I was talking to the twins.” she squinted at him menacingly yet it failed to hold any real threat. He was admittedly caught off guard with her swearing, remembering how she had to hold herself back when he was younger “I always see you, Souji and I’m pretty sure you always see me too albeit not personally. It’s been easy to check up on you considering our… mutual friend” It was obvious to the two who the ‘mutual friend’ was but the others didn’t need to know that. She placed the last of their purchase in a bag. They bowed respectfully in thanks.

 Souji was the last one out and could’ve sworn heard a faint ‘take care, kid’ at the other end of the shop. The utter casualness of their reunion made him smile. He always knew she wasn’t the emotional type, always wearing a tough cover in the outside. It’s like nothing has changed in 10 years and he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

* * *

 

“Shouldn’t someone be left here to protect Moriyama-san?” As the members of SEES packed their weapons for the upcoming operation that would commence three hours from then, a remarkably smart remark was made by no other but the team clown. The rest of the team stared at him like he grew a second head. “W-What?”

“That… actually makes sense…” Akihiko muttered “But as long as she stays inside, it’d be okay, right? Besides, wouldn’t leaving a bodyguard be a little overdone?”

Mitsuru rubbed her chin, contemplating “Hmm… not exactly. Our leads are pointing to Moriyama as the next victim and we’ve never figured out how Shadows claim their victims up until now so…” She looked at Junpei sceptically “You’re the one who raised the point so would it alright if you be the one to-?”

“No! Nuh-uh… sorry sempai but no way.” Junpei shook his head vigorously “I missed out all the fun last time! No way am I gonna be left out now!”

From one of the far ends of the room, Souji raised a hand “Alright, let me do it then.”

“But you weren’t able to join the previous operation either.”

“It’s fine. If something dares threaten Moriyama-san then I’ll find it out easily and dispose it before it gets her. You’re not the only one who’s sensitive to Shadows, remember? You guys find Fuuka Yamagishi.”

Mitsuru nodded appreciatively. They left a few minutes later, leaving him alone with their charge. Now if it was any other guy, he would surely feel excited in being alone in the same building with a girl but Souji has no such delusions. He has a job to do and his hormones is the very least of his worries.

As he went back to the lounge, he was greeted by no other than the girl he is in charge with. She wore a seductive smile. He held back a sigh. He did not consider how the other current occupant of the building would take the news. “How naughty, Souji-kun. I wonder how your fangirls would react if they find out that you volunteered to be alone in the same building with a girl… ”

“That only holds real threat if the said girl was relatively attractive.”

“Asshole”

“Go back to your room before midnight. Make sure to lock the door.” He was starting to regret volunteering and he inwardly groaned when he realized how many hours are left before the others would be back.

* * *

 

The team was composed of the males with the addition of Minako while Mitsuru and Yukari stayed in the ground floor. The search team now sat in the floor of the gymnasium where the victim was last found while the backup team waited outside of Tartarus. When the clock stroke midnight, Mitsuru quickly whipped up her Persona to get a hold of the others. She expected the nervousness but never the confusion. That confusion turned to terror upon realizing that she was sensing her companions in not one but entirely different floors.

* * *

 

Minato couldn’t remember the last time he breathed so hard.

No, he was pretty sure it’s not supposed to be called breathing anymore. ‘Hyperventilation’ Yeah, that’s the right word, he figured.

For the first time as far as he could remember, his sister was separated from him. The worst thing? He has no idea where she is. He mercilessly destroyed any Shadows he encountered but it did little in his growing apprehension. The mere fact that his constant connection with Mitsuru for communication is severed amplified his aggressive instincts.

His sensitive ears caught soft gasps from the side and for a brief second, he was elated. It quickly ended with the sight of turquoise coloured hair. The exhausted girl in front of him was nearly sobbing, holding her head protectively as though in pain. Still, she managed to gasp a few incoherent words that took a few tries before he could comprehend. “You- we need to leave. Now. Dangerous. Strong. So strong…”

Minato forced down his own breathing and tried to retain his usual cool, recognizing the girl in front as the girl they came to rescue. She grabbed his hand and ran to a corridor desperately. He resisted and held her shoulders in an attempt to stop its uncontrollable shaking. “Calm down. What happened? What’s strong?”

Fuuka Yamagishi released a single word as an answer and he continued to stare at her uncertainly before understanding finally came in the form of the vibration of chains in the entire area.

* * *

 

When Akihiko heard someone sobbing, he was relieved, expecting either Minako or Fuuka Yamagishi. There was already a comforting smile plastered on his face when he dashed towards the sound only to find...

“I wish I was in the dorms! I wish I accepted sempai’s damn offer!” The capped teen continued to sob, not noticing that he was no longer alone in the room “GAAAHHH! RAMEN! I NEED RAMEN! SOMEONE GIVE ME RAMEN… AND COLA!”

“The best I could give you is tap soda.”

“A-AKIHIKO-SEMPAI!” Junpei rushed to his senior and whimpered as he took hold of one of Akihiko’s legs “Oh man, sempai, you really are my hero! I could hardly hear Mitsuru-sempai, man.”

“And I thought you learned your lesson. I never thought I would see you sobbing for help a second time.”

“I was lost, okay? Besides, this time around I’m in Tartarus…alone! You have no idea how terrified I was!”

“Hmm… I’m pretty sure I do.” Akihiko muttered “Anyway, we need to hurry and find the others. We can search for Yamagishi along the way.”

They preceded their search, fighting some Shadows along the way when they came across a particularly large window. Junpei whistled at the sight while Aki solemnly looked on “Full moon”

“The full moon sure is creepy during the Dark Hour. Speaking of which, it’s the full moon during that train operation too, right?”

Despite Junpei’s casualness, a strong emotion surged in Akihiko. “Really?!”

Junpei raised an eyebrow “Uh- yeah. Why? What’s up?”

Aki ignored the question and immediately contacted Mitsuru. “Mitsuru! Are you alright?”

Confused and jumbled words met him, bringing him temporary relief.”Be ready, a Shadow boss might come for you any second. I’ll explain later.” His thoughts were pulled by a troubled Junpei.

“Hey sempai, about what you said before, do you seriously believe that Fuuka-chan is still alive in here?”

“She better be”

“But this place is crawling with Shadows! Would she be worth the trouble? ”

“She better be”

* * *

 

Everything hurt.

That was the only way she could describe the feeling of Death or at least what she believes to be an entity of Death. It was nothing compared to the feeling she get with the tar like beings. This is what left her confused when she encountered the perfectly calm boy with blue hair. She could still recall her reaction when her school transformed into the monstrosity that it is now and yet the boy she found doesn’t seem too bothered by the unending hallways and the dripping blood on the walls. The only evidence of his turmoil was the occasional bead of sweat and the searching eyes that seemed to seek someone than the avoidance of the dark being. Who is he searching for? She doesn’t know. And honestly, she was far too busy trying to preserve their lives than to be bothered by such a minuscule detail.

A sudden pain surged through the left side of her head and she stifled a scream as she forced her body to drag itself and the boy to another corner. The back of her head is ringing with the ominous jingle of chains and her wild eyes searched for any signs of a staircase. But instead, they reached a dead end.

The sound of dragging chains is close now. The overflowing power and the rotten smell that came with it made her curl and leave the boy to find some way out. But it was no use. For some reason Fuuka couldn’t explain, the monster could detect them too. Whether it has an inkling of the same ability as she has, she has no idea. They’re in a dead end and It knew they were there.

Fuuka was convinced they were going to die until the sound stopped. She will not dare hope, she thought but hope she did when she realized that the sound went further and further away. It was strange. Death knew where they are and It most probably knew that they were in their wit’s end so why? She opened her eyes to peak when the boy she is with suddenly tugged. This surprised her. After he seemed to get a hold of the situation, he has allowed himself to be dragged around and has remained idle ever since. A split second later, their positions were switched and it was he who dragged her. It was then when she decided to trust the boy just as he trusted her.

She caught a blurry green light where he trudged. This was followed by a blinding light.

She opened her eyes, revealing what appears to be the tower’s lobby. Four people greeted them with relieved faces. She guessed she has a similar expression on her face. Their words were blurry in her ears. The sound of chains still resounded somewhere in the back of her head but she smiled back nonetheless. The blue haired boy still looked restless though and his expression began to transform further as more words flowed from his friends.

Another pain struck through her, sending her forward. A white haired guy that she later recognized as the school boxer, Akihiko Sanada caught her with a hard arm. “Y’ alri?”

It took her a moment to comprehend the words and though she wished to ease their worries, a greater detail needs to be made known. With as much effort as she could, she raised a finger towards where she could feel the overwhelming power. “I can feel…three presences.” She managed to gasp “The… strong one is… is overpowering the two.”

It took some time before the team fully understood her words. Akihiko’s earlier warnings and the two people they left in the dorm immediately took the centre of their thoughts. But at the same time, one precious team member has yet to return.

Panicked voices filled the lobby, each trying to overthrow the rest.”We need to save Minako first!”, “Arisato is strong. If a non Persona-user like Yamagishi can survive for ten days, so can Arisato. We have two lives at stake there!”, “No! Save Minako-chan! You’ve heard what Minato-kun said a while ago. What if she meets the Reaper along the way?!”, “But the Reaper rarely shows up and Minako-chan can escape the monster. Souji can’t run away from a fucking Shadow Boss without getting Moriyama-san killed! Besides, he has to protect the dorm at the same time too!”

Guilt swelled on the voices along with the names they are more willing to save for the sacrifice of another. The mixture of strained words and names made them even more incomprehensible in the ears of the turquoise haired girl but she knew desperate voices when she hears them. And these ones, Fuuka decided, are _very_ desperate.

“SILENCE!”

The first coherent word in the night echoed through the halls and all turned to the stone faced blue haired boy in the middle of the room. His earlier peaceful façade now commanded compliance. And comply they did as they stayed their tongues, stared directly at their leader and waited for orders. He gathered his members closely to formulate a proper plan. Fuuka could only watch in the sidelines as they did so and was surprised when the bluenette tapped her in the shoulder. His stoic yet powerful gaze held a hopeful gleam. “Yamagishi-san,” He clutched a silver device and her voice hitched when she was able take a better look “We need your help.”

 Somehow, under his watchful gaze, their anxiety was replaced by a strong drive and one solid notion.

Arisato Minato is the head of SEES.

And it has never become more genuine than in the absence of his most precious people.

**-**

* * *

 

It was decided that they split up. The first team that will go on a search for Minako is composed of Yukari, Akihiko and Minato while the ones who will return to the dorms would be Mitsuru and Junpei.

Mitsuru quickly buckled up on her bike while Junpei sat behind her nervously. Despite the teen’s infamous perviness and the chance to be in close proximity with an attractive female, Junpei impressively remained focused on the mission. He knew what’s on stake. Meanwhile, Minato and the others didn’t wait for the two to depart to begin their own operation. Minato was the last one to step on the teleportation point and before he did, he casted one final glance to the turquoise haired girl in the centre of the lobby before finally allowing the green light to capture his person.

Fuuka wasn’t sure if the boy saw her nod with all the barely see through walls currently covering her. She meekly stared up to see the womanly figure that introduced herself as Juno, her Persona. It was strange how she easily trusted the being considering it was the first she saw something like it. It was stranger how a gun could summon such an ethereal being.

She shook her head to dispel her worries and focused on the link she made with the search party that left her there. With the help of her Persona, she became more sensitive with the forces around her. And she tried hard to withstand the devastating energies that wrecked her being. She will help these people she thought.

* * *

 

“Watch out!” Akihiko caught the Soul Dancer’s epee before it could reach Yukari. With a roar, he did a right hook and immediately the Shadow dispersed. The girl that was caught off guard breathed a sigh of relief “Thanks, sempai!”

Aki nodded a reply before returning to his own fight where he was facing off three Corrupt Towers. Yukari launched a Garu to the Haughty Maya on Akihiko’s 6 and was rewarded by a screech. Another Garu spell was already prepared in her mind and casted it on one of Aki’s enemies but was infuriated to discover that it drains Wind spells. “Go to Minato’s side! He has a lot on his plate!”

And indeed there was a lot as Minato pulled his trigger a fourth time that night and launched six of his enemies away with a Magaru. As if hearing his name, he spoke “I’m fine. Go help, sempai.”

Aki may be oldest but Minato is still the leader and with her orders, Yukari pulled an arrow. Akihiko dodging the series of Garus while Yukari continued to make her arrows fly, trying to give her sempai an opening. When one of his enemies stumbled, he launched. “Polydeuces! Mazio!”

A series of lightning struck the towers before they finally fell, creating dust clouds on the floor underneath their feet. Ready for action, the two spun towards their leader to provide support but was shocked by what they saw. With his sword in one hand, the blunette stood as if he has been waiting for them the whole time. A very thick layer of dust worth 6 Shadows was the only proof of his clash. “You done? Let’s go.”

The two followed their leader’s rapid steps. This has been an ongoing thing for the two, struggling with a handful of Shadows to later discover that their leader has crushed twice the amount single-handedly. Not to mention was his pace. Ordinarily, he would lead them with a calm stroll and rarely, a regular paced jog in order to preserve their strengths for the upcoming battles but now they were nearly sprinting and it made the battles more strenuous. They knew that they need to find Minako as fast as possible but their pace was taking a toll on them. Before Aki could mention it, they heard static.

**_“_ ** **_Guys! I sense three presences close to you! The first one is undoubtly the Reaper Minato-san and I met before, the second one is strong but unfamiliar and please hurry, the third one is very weak! Its power levels is very weak and um-!”_ **

Minato was already sprinting before she could even finish. Akihiko followed and Yukari struggled to keep up. They could already hear the faint sound of chains and occasionally the floor shook. There’s a fight going on and though they would very much want to avoid facing the Reaper, they would also need to save their friend.

“We need to hurry!” Minato hissed. A few more moments later and the gushing sounds turned deafening. They began to catch the smell of wet dirt and rotten flesh and Yukari tried desperately not to gag. The floors and walls shook heavily with each released spell. They made their final turn in the corridor and were unsurprised but became a lot more terrified by what they found.

The three froze on the spot when they saw what was waiting for them. Its presence was coated with dampness and the same putrid smell they caught beforehand. The ends of its long leather coat floated along with chains that hum and dangled on its person. In its claws lay twin revolvers with long barrels that gleamed with a promise of what its holder stands for. Its head turned 180 degrees to face them. Splatters of blood covered the cloth sack on its head and a single glossy eye welcomed them to the dance floor.

Akihiko and Yukari couldn’t move until the eye turned away from them. At that time they may as well be as interesting as ants. They were caught off guard by a sudden movement by their side. They watched as Minato sprinted and feared for their leader until they saw where he was running off to.

There, a little far away from them and a few feet from the Reaper lay two bodies. One was wearing a dark hood which covered its face. The unknown person was leaning on a wall while clutching a weapon much larger than its body. On its side was another body, wearing a Gekkoukan uniform. Its body was sprawled on the floor, unmoving, bloody and it was that body that Minato held in his arms. Their leader’s back was facing his two stunned teammates and they couldn’t help but swallow when they caught Minato’s shoulder tremble as he squeezed the still form as though trying to awaken it. They turned numb at the implication.

The boy, ever so tenderly, laid the body on the floor. With a trembling hand, he caressed the girl’s cheek, wiping a stain of blood in the process. As soon as the girl’s head touched the tile, he slowly moved his now bloody hand to the handle of his sword. Without an Evoker, Orpheus materialized and its mouth opened to release an inhumane gurgled chuckle. From its mouth, two clawed hands emerged, splitting Orpheus to two. The newly emerged black figure pulled its twin swords and a series of porcelain coffins dispersed like wings. The boy’s blade produced an ear splitting shrill upon its release, accompanying it is an inhumane roar from the ethereal black figure. Faster than the eye could see, the enraged boy flew straight to the atrocity with a silent scream.


	14. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death and people losing their sh*t.

The velocity of the bike did little to cover up the occasional rumbles of the earth which grow stronger as they rode towards their destination. They were obvious signs of battle and were relieved to know that their friend is still at least well enough to fight. Yet, it also means that an enemy has indeed attacked the dorms and their apprehension began to swell. The moment the motorcycle crossed the Moonlight bridge, a particularly strong vibration shook the ground, surprising the two and almost toppled over the bike. Junpei and Mitsuru shared nervous looks before Mitsuru managed to speed off again. The rumbles did not return. The battle has ended.  


After a sharp turn, they’ve finally caught sight of the dorm building, its front covered with dust and debris. Mitsuru shuddered as they got close. It should’ve ended minutes ago yet she could feel a lingering thickness in the air, the same power Fuuka felt miles away. The motorcycle stopped and both removed their helmets to see what lay ahead and were shocked to see not one, but _two_ Shadow bosses on the ground. “Hey”

They turned and there he was, unscathed. His charge, Natsuki Moriyama seemed to have fainted; lay unconscious on his arms but seemed to be in good condition. He wore his usual calm visage, as though nothing has taken place and even seemed to be a little baffled as to why they were there. “Where are the others? I thought you were going to save Yamagishi-san?” He smiled softly, casting a fond look at the girl he was carrying as though recalling an occurrence earlier “Moriyama-san here is very worried about her friend, you know.”

They knew from the start that Souji Seat is both a powerful Persona user and a very proficient combatant. Still, managing to take down two Shadow Bosses at the same time with no help except from his Personas and his own skill was a remarkable feat especially since this was his first time even encountering one. The two were both fascinated and alarmed at the undetermined power their comrade held, silently thankful for not making the boy a thorn on their side instead. As though almost forgetting why they were there, Junpei shook his head and stammered “I-We thought you were in trouble!”

“In trouble? Wherever did you get _that_ idea from?”

“Yamagishi-san, she said she was detecting a strong presence from this direction overpowering another…” And then it clicked and she stared wide eyed at the now diminishing forms of the two shadows on the ground, finishing her sentence with a whisper ”… two.”

“So the two presences she sense that were being overpowered were _not_ Souji and Natsuki-chan but were actually the two Shadow bosses.” Junpei concluded, Mitsuru nodding thoughtfully appearing deep in thought “They’ve never attacked at the same time before...”

Souji shrugged, not quite getting everything due to some missing pieces in the story, deciding to implore later “You’ve seen Fuuka-san then. That’s great. The most trouble I had was when Moriyama-san walked in on a fight between me and them.” He gestured to the fallen creatures, his head shaking “She was almost hit by an Agilao. I should’ve noticed she went out when she did. After that, lots of things happened which I’m sure I would have time to explain later. More importantly, what happened in your end?”

“Seta, Minako-san- she…” Mitsuru muttered, not knowing where to begin when she noticed Souji not paying attention and was instead looking behind her. There was a light sound and she turned in confusion, Junpei following her example.

It is common knowledge that during the Dark Hour, machines and electricity become inactive. This is why they were boggled by the rushing automobile heading in their direction. The men in the trio had their mouths ajar while Mitsuru had a raised eye brow “Is that…?”

The car slowly came to a stop and the car window in front of them rolled down revealing a gentleman in suit, a patch covering his right eye. Mitsuru was shocked. She knew that the man’s work is at its peak during the Dark Hour because of his work’s nature and whenever he rarely ever leaves the Kirijo building, he makes sure she knows…until now. ”Get in.”

“Whoa Captain, you can’t just ask us to ‘get in’ out of nowhere! You might feed us to the sharks or somethi-HNG!” A pain behind his head bloomed and ne nursed the injury, turning around to figure out which one of his two teammates was the offender “Jeez fine… Aye aye, captain.”

Mitsuru was the first one to go in, Junpei at her heels with Souji trailing up behind. So taken aback was she that she didn’t catch the two old collaborators share nods of acknowledgment.

* * *

  


The first thing he felt was a burning sensation in his chest. The sight of his motionless sister left him breathless and his body reacted before his mind could even process what he was seeing. His hands desperately clutched her, not bothering with the hooded injured figure who seemed to have been guarding her when they have yet to arrived. He has never seen so much blood in his life and has never touched skin so white and cold. His memory said otherwise and flashes of mangled scorching bodies assaulted his thoughts along with an unconscious form that looked very much like a younger version of his sister. He did not know from which memory  the images came from but he grasped them like how a drowning man grasps for air for there is nothing else there to keep him sane. The small form held neither warmth nor a vibrant smile. There was none and the tight hold became a desperate squeeze, an act of defiance. Wake up, he thought.

She did not.

He appealed to the mythological beings trapped in his thoughts. None came to view. His unrestrained brutality moments before has seeped most of his strength and he cursed himself at his utter worthlessness as he desperately prayed for help to whatever gods that were present in his ego.

He felt a chill run down his spine and despite his immediate certainty of who it was, his eyes rose just enough to see what or better yet _who_ caused the sensation. It was not in the form that he has been expecting but he got what he wanted, what he needed.

His friend, the boy covered with stripes of black and white, stood a few feet away from where he kneeled. His image swayed along with his throbbing head making the figure appear hazy in his cloudy eyes and yet he easily caught the transformation on the boy’s blank face. Thin lips curved with delight and his breath caught with the sudden sting behind his head.

He knew at that moment that something has snapped. A rigid cord. A mental thread.

An unchained beast.

Images flashed in his closed eyes. He witnessed the annihilation of kings, the downfall of heroes. Generations worth of kingdoms and unknown motherlands fell in the blink of an eye. He watched as other personifications cheered in the middle of what humankind may only coin as the end. His mind placed names on them: Geras(Old Age), Oizys(Suffering), Moros(Doom), Apate(Deception), Momus(Blame), Eris(Strife), Nemesis(Retribution) _and-_

******** (Death)

Eyes opened with the image of his sister the only one in his mind. Gingerly, he laid the body on the floor, wiping away a stain on her left cheek.  He stood, unbothered by the smokey miasma that now covered his person and let out a shuddering breath as his drifting fingers left a soft trail of blood on the hilt of his sword. He saw someone shift in his peripheral vision and saw the hooded stranger that was leaning on the wall earlier. He did not trust people easily but the mere fact that the stranger defended or at least appeared to defend his sister was more than enough for him. Side by side, they stood before Death. Concerned gazes covered him and yet he only paid attention to the eye of his enemy that seemed to flash with eagerness and expectation for the fight to come. He heard the hurried steps of his female comrade, ready to take on what damage his sister suffered and knew instinctively that he would only get in the way of their team healer. The grip on his sword tightened. It will not heal his sister but he could at least buy Yukari enough time to stabilize her condition. He made his advance, internally promising retribution.

* * *

  


By the time Yukari reached her side, she’s got a spell already prepared and Io emerged quickly. Minako bled profusely and she could hardly feel her breathing. Fuuka was right, the girl is in critical condition. Still, she managed to breathe a sigh of relief upon realizing that she wasn’t dead… yet. Deft hands moved, performing first aid and the looming shadow of Akihiko Sanada brought comfort, knowing that she wouldn’t be interrupted by the ongoing fight. Another screech of metal grinding against metal resounded and she fought hard not to look.

Seeing Minato’s black Persona from the fight with the Magician Shadow Boss brought old memories. Its presence still made a good attempt at turning her knees into jelly but it was still nothing compared to the Reaper who her friend and the stranger are now exchanging blows with. It wasn’t the first time she has seen the monstrosity, remembering that one time Minato frantically lead them to the teleportation portal and how aggravated Mitsuru sounded over the comm device. She has even heard many stories from Ikutsuki but this is the first time she has seen it fight up close. Her interest however was suddenly thrown out of the window earlier when the monster kept its eye on her. It felt extremely heavy, almost like she was being crushed and she could tell by Akihiko’s pale face that he felt it too. She wasn’t sensitive towards such things unlike Mitsuru and Souji but she can tell that one hit was all it needs for her to have a month’s worth of stay in the hospital. That’s why how Minato could manage himself against such a beast is a wonder to her. She knew of their leader’s competence but still.

The Reaper growled and a Maziodyne was launched, making her arms be covered with goose bumps. It was her first time to see such a high level Elec spell and she would’ve been toasted if Akihiko didn’t null the attack.

“Takeba, please.” Akihiko’s voice trembled. It was no surprise. She knew he was close to the girl.

“Yes, I know.” And her forehead sweated as she released another Diarama. She has the most advanced healing spells in the entire team yet her strength seems to have betrayed her at those moments. Whatever healing spell she’s using could only do so much. Yes, the spells are helping her but it would still not guarantee the girl’s stability. She swore. _Not enough._

* * *

  


They made a good team, Minato and the stranger. The stranger swung his(?) gigantic double headed axe once more, a pair of thrusters accompanying its opposite side to increase its momentum while Minato distracts the enemy on its other side. Black sludge crossed their visions but the foe remained upright. A crackle of electricity filled the air and Minato rolled to the side as a discharge of lighting took his old place. Minato’s quick movements did not hinder his proficiency, guided by the Persona lingering at his back. His sword blurred through his speedy movements and his hooded companion tried hard not to get in his way, managing to sneak in an attack whenever the opportunity presents itself. He moved too quickly for the others to see how exactly the being helped him and yet they knew exactly what it was. It wasn’t the first time they were able to witness it, after all. There is no way anybody would forget what happened in that first full moon night.

As for Minato, despite the accuracy in his swings, he was anything but stable. Many would’ve believed that his Persona heightened his instincts or gifted him with newfound power and in a way, they would’ve been right. What they were not aware of is the sheer difference of what he was supposed to see and what he is currently seeing because while his physical form is battling Death itself, his mentality was combating countless obscure battles.

While the Reaper flashed in a split second, an unknown hero flashed on another. He watched numerous battles with powerful opponents, some of which he recognized as his other Personas in their own timelines when they were yet to be captured by death and hailed as legends. One of the most recurring ones was of a blonde robotic maiden. There were missile launches and gun fires and burning cars. Something in his blood seemed to roar as though telling him that memory is important but before he could deliberate more, he found himself fighting the Reaper again. While his mind dwell and eyes watched through his Personas eyes, his body seemed to have committed to memory every movement his Persona employ. He was able to temporarily exploit whatever techniques and sword skills his black Persona possesses. With the help from Pharos following his every step and his trusty one hand sword on his right, Minato fought toe to toe with the impossible enemy.

Minato dropped to the ground after a series of assaults and advanced again until he belatedly noticed the rising temperature and the Reaper opening its arms as a dozen balls of fire formed. He has already taken off and he closed his eyes hoping that his drive would cut through the heat. His eyes however bulged when he found himself being strangled by his shirt collars. The stranger’s harsh fist dragged him away through the scuff of his neck and towards a nearby convenient pillar.

Searing pain shot through his left leg. He grabbed his limb and held down his raw leg, letting out a whimper. Minato’s sharp intakes of breath soon turned shuddering after a coloured orb was broken by his ally. “I understand that yer’ angry but there’s no need to be so-”

The voice was high pitched, very feminine and laced with a Kansai dialect. The blunette wondered for a brief moment how the girl in front of him could carry such an imposing weapon. It was hardly worth of note though so he chased after the Reaper again, ignored her startled yelp and the throbbing that still linger in his injured leg. He could only be dead if he were to lie there idly after seeing his sibling at such a state.

His rage with the monster pleased his Persona greatly and it stroked his internal fury like gasoline to a fire. Everything forgotten, he hacked, slashed, pierced and sliced out of pure, unadulterated power. For a brief shameful moment, he fought not for his friends, not for survival, not even for his sister but because he needed an outlet for the contained tension that was present in him moments earlier. It was euphoric when his high reached its overall peak. He may be unable to cast spells but the force behind his assaults almost made up for it.

But it was only temporary.

It was only a matter of time when Minato felt his arm sword begin to sag. He’s never attacked an enemy so incessantly before. The surge of power was short and Minato’s help gradually ebbed, making his Persona’s image shift. The loss took his body by surprise and was flung by a devastating Garudyne to the other side of the room. He felt the slam blow the air out of his lungs and was sure broke a few ribs. A drop later followed and he hollered. Definitely broke a few ribs. He rose his eyes, turning his heady gaze to the enemy and was taken aback by the twin barrels pointed at him.

He blurrily heard Akihiko shout his name as his sempai casted a Zio but the blunette knew that it would be too late. His gaze turned to where Yukari was healing his sister. Even at the last moments, his only thought was Minako. The guns went off and he closed his eyes as a series of shots closed.

He braced himself for the impact of bullets but when no pain came, he opened his eyes and was met with black robes. He shivered at the realization and blankly watched her hood release a tumble of bluish gray locks as she dropped to the floor. He would’ve shouted her name if he knew what it was. He was about to reach her when his hand paused with a sudden thought. _Why is there no blood?_ “Minato!”

His head swerved to where the shout came from and saw Aki deliver a Sonic Punch which did very little to the active enemy. “Don’t just stand there! Take her to Yukari!”

With a nod, he dragged her body to the healer and immediately caught her sickly pale skin. “Yukari, how’s-?”

“I’ve done what I can.” She muttered “I’ve stopped the bleeding at least and she still has pulse but she’s barely breathing. We need to leave, Minato-kun. Now.”

“Hey a little help here!” called Akihiko who barely managed to get in the way of an Agidyne. Minato was about to stand when an ice cold hand grabbed his. He was shocked to find the stranger miraculously conscious. She was still lying on the floor but still…

“Grab dat’ guy an’ take im’ ere’” She ordered with a straight face “I can send us back.”

He didn’t know what exactly she meant but he did as she told and surprised his sempai with a desperate tug which made the older teen scramble on the floor. Minato turned to the girl, expectantly and caught a shimmering green orb in her right palm. “Make sure you’re all touchin’.”

They obeyed with Yukari and Minato instinctively reaching for Minako. The Reaper loomed behind them and a long shadow casted over their small group, the green orb in the girl’s hand serving as their only light source. Upon Minato’s nod, the stranger’s grip on the orb tightened and a familiar flash of green engulfed the chamber.

A split second was all it took for the traesto gem to transfer them back to the lobby and they were immediately welcomed by a teary Fuuka Yamagishi. Minato examined his still unconscious sister and upon deciding that the worst has passed, he blacked out.

* * *

  


As the others fuss over the redhead girl and the blue haired boy, she absently searched her phone and tapped a particular button. She has already done so earlier upstairs but she wanted to make sure the President caught on. She cannot allow any deaths while she can still help it. Unfortunately, the bullets were able to hit a few major points in her platform and rendered her nearly incapable. She groaned. Not only was she beaten to the punch in the retrieval operation for Fuuka Yamagishi, she was also impaired in battle and would likely take days before she could be fully operational. _Great. Three months after years of complete stasis and it’s back to the labs again. What would President Kirijo say?_

“Minato’s out but he’s stable.” Yukari said after a brief inspection “But we still need to bring them to a hospital.”

Akihiko grunted “It’s no good. It’s still the Dark Hour. No electricity, remember?”

“Well we should at least make an effort!”

“We have three patients and there’s only two of us. I suggest we wait for Mitsuru. I’m sure she would pick us up once the Dark Hour’s done.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me! How could that person possibly-!”

“Um- sceuse me?” She interrupted with a limp metallic hand “I’ve already called fo’ help so can you two please stop fighting now?”

The two stared at her, bewildered until what she said had sunk in and Aki started to go ballistic “Wait… You called for help!? To who!? How!?”

“Don’t worry, my boss is a good guy. I’m sure he’ll help.” She smiled “And as to how, well…“

“Are you sure?! We don’t even know you!” Aki was cut off by a small shadow accompanied with teal-blue hair

“But more importantly, you were shot several times. Are you alright?”

The resident supporter asked and she smiled, glad for the diversion “I could ask the same thing to ya’. I don’ think I could’ve lasted there as long as you did.” She absently rubbed where the bullet holes were and she could almost see the question in her eyes “You don’ have to worry about me. As you can see, I’ve no blood to lose.”

“And why is that?” Yukari asked suspiciously “You took like six bullets, your condition should be even worse than Minato-kun.”

She shrugged “I’m built for these kind of things.”

“Built?”They remained sceptical.

She sighed “It’d be best for ya’ not to kno’. But if you insist then ya’ better talk to ma’ boss about it. He rarely ever keeps secrets from non-munda-” A sudden cry of pain interrupted her and they turned worriedly to the teal haired girl who is now clutching her head.

“Fuuka-chan?”, “Yamagishi!” Yukari and Akihiko was immediately at her side

“Something- _gasp-_ something is nearing… It’s different from the Reaper but its power levels are very-!” She dropped to the floor, still clutching her head “It’s the one from earlier! The one from outside! It’s nearing very quickly.”

“Is it dangerous?!” Akihiko was alerted. He didn’t think he can handle anymore ugly surprises.

“I-I don’t know. I think-” Her head snapped to the entrance “They’re here.”

“THEY?! There’s more than one!?”

“No, I meant…” A screeching sound resembling that of a car in pavement was heard “Your friends.”

The only two conscious members of SEES in the vicinity lounged for the entrance and were stunned speechless at the active car. The doors of the car opened and the rest of their team stepped out: Mitsuru, Junpei and Souji. An unknown man also stepped exited from the passenger seat but they were too preoccupied by their worries to question who the gentleman was. Yukari ran forward while Akihiko began to carry Minako from inside “We’ve found Minako-chan but she’s heavily wounded. Minato-kun’s unconscious too. We need to bring them to a hospital.”

Souji and Junpei immediately ran to the entrance, forcing themselves not to dwell on the heavily injured girl on Akihiko’s arms as they passed. Souji ran for Minato immediately upon seeing the other boy, briefly passing a girl with teal-blue hair who he assumed was Yamgisghi. Their eye contact was brief and Souji didn’t notice how the girl anxiously flees the room immediately as he turned. He was about to scoop Minato in his arms when- “KYAA!”

“WHERE DO YA’ THINK YER TOUCHIN’!” A loud shrill voice resounded followed by a loud smack. He thought the voice sounded familiar so he turned and his eyes met red unmistakeable eyes. Their eyes bulged in shock.

“La-” He stopped himself from blurting the name just in time as Junpei groaned at the other end of the hall. The lad looked as though he was punched in the face…with a God’s Hand. “Junpei?”

“Hnrmmghrmhhm” _Great._ another _patient to take care of._ He couldn’t blame the girl though since he wasn’t there to see if he _had_ touched something or if she was simply over reacting.

After dropping Minato off, he returned to take Labrys next, taking note of Fuuka’s quivering form already in the car. _Poor girl_. He has been to Tartarus enough times to know the fucked up things you can find there. If the defenceless girl’s survival in the tower for days wasn’t a miracle then he doesn’t know what is. Mitsuru mentioned little on their way there but he just knew the Fuuka girl has to be special in order to manage such a feat.

He entered the lounge and met the back of Takeharu Kirijo, talking with the crippled robot about who knows what. The man noticed his entrance and nodded his thanks as Souji began to scoop the girl in his arms. It would’ve been much easier to accept the free ride if she wasn’t conscious. “Eep! Wha- not so fast! Ya’ can’t just-Ey!”

“Stop struggling, Labrys.” The man sighed “You can blush and squirm as much as you want later but we need to get you to the labs first.”

“I ain’t blushin’!” But she indeed was and Souji shifted uncomfortably as her metal body managed to conduct the heat that was just earlier on her cheeks alone.

“Labrys…” Takeharu used a warning tone and the girl’s struggle ebbed, somewhat understanding why the act needs to be done. It didn’t lessen her embarrassment in the least though. Souji was one of the very few she would like to call a friend but bridal style carrying was definitely not something friends do.

As he exited, he passed by Mitsuru who was giving her father a thoughtful look. Knowing his business, he left the family alone. He laid Labrys down and with everybody now on his range, he whispered a spell, making a six winged creature materialize. While not exactly a rare sight to the team, the power it exhibits still left most at awe. This holds true especially to the first timers as Helel performed Salvation.

“Ah!” He heard Labrys exclaim and he turned to see him supporting a trembling Fuuka “You alright?”

Alarmed, Souji stepped forward. “NO!” He froze and all casted bewildered gazes at the girl who seemed to hide behind Labrys’ back “…D-Don’t touch me.”

The unusual behaviour left him perplexed. He noticed how her skin paled and her eyes dilate. Sure, mundane people would be freaked of his use of magic but this is overboard. A healing spell is hardly notable compared to the horrors of Tartarus he was sure she experienced. He distanced himself and was relieved when she seemed to lax in turn. “She must be on some sort of shock. Don’t worry, we’ll see to her at the hospital.” Takeharu muttered and the doors slammed shut but a window still left an opening from inside “I’ll make sure to excuse you in your classes tomorrow so rest easy. We’ll see you in the morning.”

The car took off, bringing the siblings, Mitsuru, Takeharu, Yamagishi and Labrys with it leaving four teenagers at its wake.

* * *

  


He came back from dropping Moriyama off her house and as expected, the girl remembered nothing but was glad to know of Fuuka’s return. The girl was the first one to wake up and offered walking her home upon discovering her packing her things. “Souji!”

Akihiko wore his usual work out attire. It still amazes him how the guy could retain his regimen at this point. _Must be something in the protein shakes._ “Mornin’, how was Moriyama?”

“She’s okay. Didn’t remember a thing, as expected.”

They talked briefly, Akihiko telling him what happened in the tower with Souji telling what happened in the dorms and what little detail Mitsuru gave in their way to the tower. Souji opened the door and were immediately met his now awake team members getting ready to go. Aki quickly left to change leaving Souji to observe. It was obvious that the long sleep made significant improvements but a noticeable glum hung in the air still and it remained when they reached the hospital. They are thankfully no longer in danger but according to the doctor, it would be some time before they could wake up or better yet move around. Minako especially considering the Reaper managed to fracture at least four of her ribs but seemed to have been healed along with a punctured lung and stomach. The doctor looked quite astonished while telling them so, even comparing the recovery as some sort of magic.

On the other hand, Fuuka Yamagishi who is currently staying on a different room doesn’t show any notable injuries. Sure, there were scratches here and there and she showed signs of exhaustion but overall, she’s fine and was even permitted to return that same day. They then asked about that other young female patient in black with long hair. “Girl in a black hoody? I was given no such patient, I’m afraid.”

“What? How can that be? She was repeatedly sho-”

“Actually…” Mitsuru cut Yukari off, giving her a meaningful look “She’s in another hospital. Don’t worry about her. My father made sure that she would be well taken care of. She’ll come around soon enough, you’ll see.”

Once the man left, the team let out a sigh and moved just a bit closer to where the siblings lie. Silently, they watched the siblings together. Minako’s bright sunshine is nowhere to be seen and while Minato rarely talks and usually have the expression of a brick wall, he was eerily still in his comatose state. Souji actually had to squint his eyes to see their breathing. The distilled smell and blank walls helped little in the desolated atmosphere. He scuffled. He never really liked hospitals.

It was no wonder they left the room only a few minutes after in search of the other patient. When they reached the door however they heard hysteric exclamations from outside. The door opened by itself and revealed the doctor in charge, distressed and visibly tousled. “Kirijo-sama! You’re just in time! I was about to contact either you or your father.”

“What happened to Yamagishi?”

“She’s been acting abnormally for the past few minutes. Struggling, strong emotions, a desire to escape…” He lamented as he inspected the clipboard in his hands wearily “She has been okay the whole time until a nurse called me in a few minutes ago. We’ve been trying to figure out what’s wrong with her or if she needs medication for… mental instability of sorts.” That last input did not bode them well “If you think you can help or have any ideas, please tell. You’re free to meet her but only in maximum number of- Ah!”

It was unsure whether it was Junpei or Akihiko who first opened the door but it did. They were quickly followed by the rest and it was left to Souji to cast an apologetic look to the doctor who muttered something about misbehaving children. With their connections with the Kirijos, they knew he wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on them.

Two nurses stood at her bedside and they quickly found out that the abnormalities the doctor mentioned were true. The girl wore light clothing but a mat of hair visibly stuck on her forehead. An IV appears to have been removed and they wondered if it was because of her or if the personnel found her unneeded of such. She shivered, eyes darting to the new visitors. She gasped visibly and jumped in fright. The white sheets quickly served as a shield to the newly arrived visitors. “S-STAY AWAY!”

Mitsuru casted meaningful glances to the two nurses and the door. The two hesitated but apparently, her frosty gaze is just as effective if not more so to strangers than to those who know her well and so the two left, trusting that the predicament would be solved soon.“Now, now, Yamagishi… I know we’ve just met but don’t you remember what happened last night?” Mitsuru asked, hands up in a diplomatic gesture “We’re your friends. We want to help you.”

Mitsuru took a cautious step so as not to alert the girl “What’s wrong, Yamagishi?”

“Don’t come any closer…”

“Who, me? Can you tell me why?”

“N-No, not you.” She whispered and the eyes that have been hidden rose to meet…“Him”

Souji blinked. _What?_ The others shared a look of confusion as well and the redhead asked the one question that was all in their heads “Why?”

“Too much... too much-” She ended the sentence with a barely comprehensible whisper “…power.” Mitsuru’s look shifted from confusion to realization as the timid girl tried to explain “Like- like the Reaper but different. I can sense the monsters and all of you but he’s… too much.”

“Sense what? Am I missing something here?” Souji muttered to the others, using a hushed voice enough not to make her flinch. There was only so much Mitsuru and Junpei could explain in the car and everybody were exhausted to the bone and left to their respective rooms right after. It was Akihiko who replied.

“It’s exactly as it sounds, Souji. She can sense Shadows and Persona users. It’s how she managed to stay alive even after so many hours in the tower. She was able to avoid enemies because she can sense them and by what she’s saying now…” He came to the same realization as Misturu who bobbed her head in agreement “Seems like she can sense you too. She can sense you _too much._ ”

Junpei hummed as though remembering something, scratched his head almost causing his hat to topple over “Hmmm Now that you mention it, she acted kinda the same way too last night, didn’t she? In the lounge when she felt something outside. That and when Souji summoned his Persona just before they left. She really freaked out… like she was in pain.”

Yukari gave Fuuka a concerned a gaze “Too much… you mean too strong? His presence is too strong?” The girly nodded gingerly in response and Yukari shot Souji a thoughtful look “I guess that makes sense. We’ve always known your Persona isn’t your average Persona. But what can we do then? We can’t just make you leave, plus with Fuuka attending classes again soon then you two are bound to meet up again in some way.”

Souji’s face creased. They knew he was strong but he has always limited himself into using only two spells: Salvation and God’s Hand, not counting the other spells on the first full moon night. One’s the only support spell he as of Helel and the other is the least intimidating offensive magic. He can hold back as much as he wants just so that the others wouldn’t be intimidated but it was clear that someone with detecting abilities will pick up on his power. _She’s scared of Helel then? If so then maybe I could…_ Souji closed his eyes, pulling the Personas in his consciousness until he found the a more suitable one. “Souji dude, don’t sleep on us now, you okay?”

Junpei’s concerned gray eyes met his “Yeah, I’m just testing something.” He turned to Fuuka, a look of intense bewilderment covering her features and he smiled, relieved and knowing that it had worked “Well? Is it still too much now?”

“I- How did you-?” Her voice, heavy in uncertainty it may be is still visibly lighter than before. The earlier hysteria however is no more and he’ll take whatever victories he can get.“I can still detect you but… now it’s more like in the others’ level. It’s not too much anymore.”

“I just tweaked a little something in my head. With this, you won’t get headaches whenever you’re with me anymore.” He smiled softly in an attempt to reassure her further. He made a mental note to cast spells as little as possible so as not to scare the girl, if she was going to stay with them that is. “Sorry about that, I’ll make sure not to use my powers too much from now on, Fuuka-san.”

“I- That would be good. Thank you very much.” The girl smiled at him and the rest appears to be relieved as well but it was impossible to ignore some of their more suspicious gazes. Yes, gazeS. Plural. Apparently, Mitsuru alone wasn’t enough but fate had to throw Yukari somewhere in there too and he internally wondered what he has done to aggravate the other girl so. Of course, he has been expecting Q&A, he wouldn’t be able to get away with such a simple explanation anyway. So, he did the next best thing in such a situation. He made a diversion.

“So, does this mean you’ll be joining us?”

“Seta.” The only sign of threat he detected in Mitsuru was through her icy gaze. She wouldn’t want to scare the potential recruit, after all. If the terrors in the tower isn’t enough to scare Fuuka out of her wits then Mitsuru’s execution certainly would. “She’s still recovering.”

He scoffed “She already has. She would be released today, right?”

“But still-”

“It’s okay. He’s right.” Fuuka intercepted with a shy reassurance “You searched for me in that tower, not even knowing of what have become of me. Two of your teammates were heavily injured…” They cringed at that “And now my behaviour towards Seta-san… the least I can do is listen to your offer.”

Knowing his place, he nodded to Mitsuru. Without Ikutsuki, it has always been her doing the explanation anyway. “It’s in our club prerequisite to help with whatever Shadow related activities we encounter. There is no need to hold such feelings, Yamagishi-san. However, Seta is right. With your first hand experience, I’m sure you know what we’re getting at so please let me explain…”

And so she did, with the others adding little details here and there. When someone knocked on the door, it was Yukari who stood to keep the doctor temporarily away from the room, reassuring him that they’ve already regained control of the patient. He promised to return at a later time and Yukari returned to Souji’s side minutes later whispering: “Tweaked something in your head?” He mouthed his response to her: ‘Later’. When the explanation ended, Fuuka’s eyes shined with vigour but hesitation was still evident in them. “It’s alright not to answer right away, Yamagishi. You are understandably agitated after what happened. You may respond whenever you see fit.”

“No, I already had the feeling it’s going to be like this anyway. So I’ve been thinking about it even before you came.” Fuuka explained. _Smart girl._ “And I accept.” _Okay, maybe not so smart then._

“Are you sure? You’ve seen what we face daily and you saw how sever our injuries can get.” Minako came into mind and Souji’s knuckles turned white. “It’s life threatening, Fuuka-san.”

“I know. But I just need to help you knowing that my support Persona might be vital in your battles. And after what Mitsuru-sempai said about her detecting abilities being not as effective as before anymore with how high your expeditions have been getting… I know you need my help.”

After what the girl went through, the sense of protectiveness they felt within themselves is understandable. On the other hand, they truly _do_ need Fuuka’s ability if they were to continue on trudging forth. So it was with mixed feeling when the team finally accepted the patient’s response to the excessive request. Mitsuru, especially, since it was her incapability that lead them to propose the offer in the first place. “Thank you very much, Yamagishi-san. Your help would be greatly appreciated. As a support, you would be staying on the ground floor most of the time so you would mostly be away from danger. Still, I shall make sure that you would have company at all times.”

The timid girl flushed as the redhead bowed deeply, followed by the rest with varying degrees of respect. The Student Council President, the most esteemed Gekkoukan star athlete, one of the most popular girls in school, a goofy and upbeat student everybody knows and one of the three genius transfer students who managed to have a fan club within his first week in school… the people before her are well known students she has only heard in stories about. She certainly never thought that they would one day all be in the same room as she, much less that they would even bend their heads so low before her. She is never one for attention, contented to stay in the background where she believes is much less scary in comparison to the spotlight where each misstep would lead in a tide of humiliation. “P-Please raise your heads! There is no need for such! I should be the one bowing since you saved me and- and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you so- um-” the colour in her cheeks bloomed further, reaching the tips of her ears. “…Thank you!”

They must have noticed her embarrassment for each of them sported amused yet jovial smiles upon raising their heads. A knock on the door later announced their call for departure. After defying the doctor’s orders and making his people leave the patients’ room, their special treatment could only go so far. The girl needs her rest anyway. But a hesitant call made Souji, who trailed at the end of the group stop. “Seta-san”

He raised a questioning eye brow at the girl who appears to be fondling with her words “I heard that you were the one who took care of Natsuki-chan. Thank you for that. I know she can be a handful sometimes but she is a very good friend.”

“No need to tell me what I already know.” Souji sniggered, remembering something “Moriayam-san is mundane so she didn’t remember but last night, it was all I could do to stop her from going to the tower.  She wanted to apologize to you. Didn’t even notice the two gigantic Shadow Bosses in the way.”  
“She- wanted to apologize to me?” He nodded “Thank you for telling me. I’ll talk to her once I return.”

* * *

  


Once they returned to the dormitories, the team immediately headed to the lounge which seemed to have served as a suitable meeting place when climbing up the stairs is too much of a bother. But he just had to internally curse his luck upon noticing the prodding gazes of the two girls instantly at his back. Yukari rose an eyebrow “Well? How did you do it?”

I pouted, hoping it would have the same effect as Nanako’s. It did not.“Like I said, I tweaked something in my head.”

“I implore, Seta.” With Fuuka not being in the way, the menacing look from earlier is ten times worse now “…else I might just _tweak_ your head for you.”

It was a half lie, of course. However he cannot just tell them that all he did was switch to a much weaker Persona mentally. His current Persona shifted in response and he casted a mental hand as he soothed Izanagi after being called as such. “I don’t know about yours but Helel and I are pretty close. All I did was exchange with Helel for a bit. He’s so proud sometimes, he just _had_ to show off.”

Complete bull. Junpei had no problems buying it though “Personas can talk?”

“They rarely do but yeah they can. Most of the time, I can just feel mine steering, just enough to know he’s there.”

“Talking Personas? I’ve never heard of such.” Mitsuru mumbled and the rest looked as baffled. Souji’s openly curious now. He lied about talking with Helel but did not lie about talking Personas. He can still recall the first time he summoned Izanagi. He said something along the lines of ‘Thou art I and I am thou’ or something. Yosuke and the girls had similar experiences. Every time Igor fuses a Persona for him, they say some kind of an opening sequence. Sure, it’s the only times they talk but they still did so why aren’t theirs... Oh. _The Evokers._ He has almost forgotten that their summoning isn’t as natural as the Investigation Team’s. He never knew what their first summoning was like with the device.

“I don’t know why yours don’t but mine does. It very rarely does so don’t be surprised. You can still feel it though, right?”

“Yeah” Aki mumbled, eyes closed as though in concentration

“See? It’s kinda like that.” He shrugged, ignoring Yukari’s sceptical look.

“Alright. If you say so, Souji-kun.”

“Hey, I’m telling the truth.”

“Alright, we’ll end it at that then.” The redhead decided. She too wasn’t sure if she can trust Souji’s word but knew it’s the most they can get

“Please, Mitsuru-sempai. He’s not the only one who has explaining to do. There’s still that thing about that girl wearing a black hoody. What happened to her?”

“I’m getting to that, Takeba.” _What did I ever do to deserve such a heat?_ She mulled mentally “As you all might know, the Kirijo Group has been of service in the conquest of Shadows and the Dark Hour for years. As such, we’ve assembled projects and operations that would benefit the cause. The creation of working machines in the Dark Hour, Evokers and the formation of SEES are some of them. Honesty, even I know very little of these operations. That’s why it surprised me to know that one of my father’s people were there.” With the Group being the centre of the talk, she treaded carefully. Trying not to step on a landmine that might explode into the real reason why the Kirijo Group is helping in the cause in the first place. Souji’s meaningful gaze and Yukari’s suspecting look didn’t help at all. “The man you met last night was my father and head of the Kirijo Group, Takeharu Kirijo. He’s been handling most of the Shadow related operations and with Fuuka Yamagishi in the tower, he sent one of his helpers in hopes that she would be able to find the missing girl.”

“And that helper is that hooded girl we met last night?” Aki asked

“Yes. It was my first time meeting her last night as well. She introduced herself as Labrys, an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon made by the Kirijo Group years ago.” Astonished gasps were released in the room. “She’s an android, a mechanical weapon. I was not given any more details further than that and I’m not sure when the next time I might meet my father would be so that’s all I know.”

“An android-that’s…unnatural.”

“What are you talking about, Yukari? That’s incredible!”

“Android?! L-like in Featherman X?!”

“Weapon for Shadows… Does that mean she has a Persona too?” Souji pointed out, honestly curious now. He knew Labys is a robot but a Shadow exterminator? The girl rarely ever tells him about herself and respects that but now that the opportunity presented itself...

“A Persona? I don’t know but now that you mention it-”

“She does” The rest turned to Akihiko and an unsurprised Yukari “We saw her summon a Persona a couple of times when she fought alongside Minato. She’s very strong but I noticed that she only casted physical and support spells. Whether she can cast elemental, dark, light or even almighty magic- that, I don’t know”

 _A robot with a Persona made to combat Shadows? That’s-_ “…Interesting.” Souji murmured which did not escape Yukari’s sensitive ears who perked up

“Got something in mind, Souji-kun?”

“I’m just thinking that now with the Kirijo president’s helper out of the bag, we might be able to get additional fire power, a new recruit?” _I’ve been helping her with Sho-san anyway. This will be considered a payback._

The redhead shook her head “Labrys is his personal helper, his right hand of sorts. I don’t know what sort of errands he sends her way but I might be able to request her assistance during full moon nights or whenever she’s free. I will speak to my father about her.”

“That’s two new people we have now. Good.” Akihiko bobbed in approval before a raising another point of interest. His delivery, typical but upon closer inspection lie a hidden glum the guy refuses to spill out “But there’s still that thing about Minato’s absence to deal with. Who will be our temporary leader?”

“The last time Minato-kun summoned that mon- _Persona,_ he was asleep for a whole week.” Yukari mumbled “But unlike last time, he burned almost all his SP too. I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes him a handful of weeks to a month before he could wake up. That goes the same with Minako-chan too. We would be in trouble if they stay this way any longer. What if one of those big guys attack again?”

Akihiko shook his head “Relax, Yukari. We already have a suspicion that Shadow Bosses’ only come during full moons. So we still have a few weeks to prepare.”

“That’s true but that doesn’t we mean we can slack off either.” Mitsuru pointed out “As we may have all have noticed, every Shadow bosses’ we face grow stronger like how the Shadows in the tower become stronger too with every floor we seize. We need to continue to train, with the Arisatos or not.”

The abrupt standing of Junpei grabbed the group’s attention. With puffed up chest, Junpei stood, hand tipping the brim of his cap “There is no need to ask me, sempai. I know what you need me to do. I would gladly replace Mina-”

“And that’s why Seta will be the new team leader.”

“WHAT!?” Junpei exclaimed and Souji looked on, unmoving as though still not registering the words “Why HIM!?”

“Because next to Arisato, he is the most capable of us all. He shows the most promise in combat with or without a Persona. Yamagishi herself said so.”

 Junpei pointed at the other boy accusingly “He doesn’t even wanna do it!”

“It’s true. I don’t want to do it.”

“See?! He doesn’t want to- wait what?” Junpei fixed him a bewildered look “You don’t want to be leader?”

He scoffed “Have you seen me boss anybody around? I work best alone. The only history of leading I have is being a Student Council member.”

“Now, now, Seta. It would only be temporary. I doubt you would even get to lead the team in the next full moon depending on Arisato’s recovery. There is nothing to worry about.“

“But-” Souji muttered while Junpei’s jealous induced words blended in the background “Why can’t you or Akihiko-sempai do it? You guys have been doing this since middle school, right?”

“True but that doesn’t make us stronger than you, only more experienced. It shames me to admit it but you three transfer students far surpass us in terms of combat and strategy. Besides that, we are more inclined in fighting alone since there was only thr- two of us in the past so we don’t actually have to lead anybody.” Mitsuru continued even as Aki turned sullen at her slip up “I’m sorry, Seta. I understand your reluctance in terms of leading but I truly believe that you are the best choice out of all of us right now.”

He awkwardly scratched his nape as the team looked at him expectantly for a response. Rarely does he become shy. Quiet, yes but timid? Not so much. So his reluctance in accepting the mantle wasn’t due to personality but because of his capability. He has always been battling in the T.V. world alone with the exceptions of Teddie and rarely, the Velvet residents. The initial clashes with Teddie as a tag along were still cemented on his mind and he found that the moments still made him want to wrench Teddie’s nonexistent stuffing after quickly learning how defenceless stuffed toys attract more trouble than he’s worth. The bear managed to adapt later on and even made himself useful by carrying his baggage but he could only fear the frustrations in leading SEES. In terms of patience, Minato Arisato is practically Buddha compared to him.

“Do we even _need_ a temporary leader though? I mean Minato would most probably recover after a week, right? Why don’t we take a break? We’re all tired from yesterday anyway.”

“But in case something goes wrong…”

“It’s just one week, Kirijo-san. And if Minato hasn’t fully recovered by then… then fine, I’ll take up the mantle. But only in one condition…” Mitsuru straightened and he almost smiled at the similarity with her father. It wasn’t the first time he has made a deal with a Kirijo, after all.

* * *

****

He thought he would be alone in his visit the next day. It was early in the morning and he has finished packing a little too early than he anticipated so had some time to kill. Except for Akihiko who jogs in the morning, he was the first in the dorm to leave the building. So when he opened the door and found people inside, he was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

There were two of them, their backs were facing him but their silver locks and blue uniforms were a dead giveaway. He was certain that they’ve sensed his presence even before he has entered the building but their usual eager greetings did not come. He figured this would be the case upon seeing the two patients on the room. “Good morning”

They turned, unsurprised, and bent their heads. The tiny curves on each face barely reached the end of their lips. Elizabeth managed to make it look natural but Theo’s looked more like a grimace than anything. After being raised in order to accommodate anything, Igor would be most disappointed, he thought. But the old master is nowhere to be found and they could only hope that he isn’t watching from the Velvet Room. Still, Souji understood. He grew up with the siblings. He has always known how soft hearted they truly are, even Margaret. “A pleasant morning to you too, Souji-kun.”, “Good morning as well, Master Souji.”

“Marge didn’t come with you?”

“My, Souji-kun. We came all this way ourselves and you ask for Margaret-nee-chan?” Despite the situation, leave it to Elizabeth to crack a joke. “Aren’t we enough for you? You hurt my feelings!”

He doesn’t know what to reply with that except for a small smile. Theo, the more prim mannered of the two gave him his response though. “We are sorry, Master. But Margaret-nee-sama must stay in the room. Master Igor would need an assistant if fate ever requires.”

“Fate.” Souji snorted as he grabbed a metal chair to sit upon. There was no need to bother with proper etiquette with the Velvet siblings, he knew they can take care of themselves. “More like Philemon... stupid bastard.”

“Master Souji, we understand that some part of your people’s circumstances is due to the interference of Master Philemon but please, we would appreciate it if you were to use a more… suitable tone to address our most venerable grandfather.” Theo requested, his tone, gentle but he could not help but let a twinge of nervousness leak through. Elizabeth on the other hand, maintained her sickly sweet smile. Her subtle eyes however flew across the room as though verifying the room’s privacy. Minato’s bed dipped at Elizabeth’s weight. Her arm reached until a tender hand brushed away the long bangs, revealing more of Minato’s partially covered face. Theodore remained upright but he too closed the distance with his own Master. Theo’s hand was careful as its fingers left a soft trail on the girl’s injuries, fearful that his delicate touch might cause further injury. “You shouldn’t hold so much aggravation towards Him, Souji-kun. It was because of your strength of heart that He deemed you worthy of the power you hold.”

“The power I hold is due to how many Shadows I’ve slain. Don’t give me that crap, Lizbeth.”

“It’s true that you’ve worked very hard to reach your level today but you must admit that it was He that awoken your wild card abilities in the first place. Never forget that He can take it away just as easily, so mind your words, Souji-kun.”

“Noted” He retorted. Over the years, the subject of the blue butterfly has always been a sore topic with them. Somebody has to be blamed for all the shit they go through. Why they fight at night, why his friends get hurt. Okay so the Kirijo Group is responsible for the Dark Hour, he knows that, Takeharu told him but the existence of Shadows, why his best friends were chosen as suitable wildcards to do his bidding… somebody has to be accounted for.

“Besides, if not for Him, you would never be a part of SEES. You would never have met the Arisatos or found us ten years ago.”

“Please. I met Minato and Minako even before Philemon arrived. We were classmates, remember?”

Elizabeth giggled “Master Philemon already had a hand on that too actually. You were never meant to visit Iwatodai until next year.”

“What? What are you-”

She stood up before him with Theodore taking his place at her side “You are a very special person, Souji-kun. Master Philemon changed lots and lots of things just so you could be right here, right now. The shifting of timelines, yours and the Investigation Team’s ages, events that should have never even happened in the first place… He altered all that, trusting that you could save the Arisatos this time.”

He blinked. ‘ _This time?’_

“And we trust you, Master Souji, just as much as Master Philemon does you so please don’t let anything like this happen again.” The two began walking away. Theodore opened the door for his sister and Elizabeth gave her parting words to the now standing but still bewildered Souji Seta.

“Grow stronger or we will force you to. Goodbye, Souji. Have fun in Inaba.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, if you're reading this, you have to wait for chapter 15 because 11YTE is on hiatus. Thanks for reading.


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